TranS1, a medical device firm, made a smashing debut on the Nasdaq Wednesday with an initial public offering of stock that produced $82.5 million.
Shares in TranS1 (Nasdaq: TSON) opened at $15 per share, then soared more than 70 percent before cooling a bit by midday.
TranS1, which had raised more than $40 million in venture capital, offered 5.5 million shares.
At noon, shares sold at $24.40, up $9.40 or 62.7 percent.
By the close, shares traded at $24 – a 60% one-day bump.
The sharp surge in TranS1’s stock was something not seen since the tech and dot-com “bubble” back in 2000.
The gain was the biggest for a medical device company since Oratec Interventions’ shares soared 83 percent on their opening day in 2000, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The newspaper cited data from Dealogic, a data tracking firm.
TranS1’s opening day could benefit other medical device firms, according to IPOBoutique.com, a research firm that tracks IPO.
"The above-range pricing of TranS1 may augur an increased look at the sector,” said Scott Sweet, IPOBotique’s managing director.
Why the appeal? "It is minimally invasive and it is a revolutionary product" for "one of the most complained-about maladies," Sweet said of TranS1’s technology, according to Reuters.
The company was launched in 2000. Backers include Advanced Technology Ventures, Delphi Ventures, Cutlass Capital, Sapient Capital and Thomas Weisel Healthcare Venture Partners.TranS1 has developed devices for treating degenerative disc disease that requires minimally invasive surgery.
Richard Randall, chief executive officer of TranS1, also has been an executive with Incumed and Innovasive Devices as well as Target Therapeutics.
TranS1 already sells two products in the United States and Europe, and it has a third available in Europe. Two more products are being developed.
Through June 30, TranS1 generated $7.2 million, up from $2.2 million for the same time period in 2006.
