Wall Street’s heavy demand for new Silicon Valley companies has not waned as 2013 draws to a close: Nimble Storage shares flashed higher Friday in their market debut, gaining more than 60 percent.
Nimble stock opened Friday morning at $31.10 on the New York Stock Exchange and continued to gain, selling for as much as $35.13 before closing at $33.93, a gain of 61.6 percent from the IPO price. That price was already elevated, as the data-storage startup originally sought a price of $16 to $18, then increased that range to $18 to $20 before bumping it $1 higher at the last minute.
“This is the beginning of the next stage of the journey for us,” Nimble CEO Suresh Vasudevan said, “there’s a long road ahead and it will be another fun journey as we look ahead.”