Top start for latest market darling

SHARES in Macquariebacked analytics and intelligence software company Nuix have rocketed on debut, listing at a 60 per cent premium in what is Australia’s biggest IPO of the year.

The $2.5bn data analytics company, which serves clients including the Australian Defence Force, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Amazon with its highpowered forensics software, opened at $8.50, compared to shares sold in the IPO at $5.31. Its shares reached as high as $9 before descending to close at $8.01.

“It‘s really exciting, it’s just one step in the journey but it’s a really positive one and gives us the opportunity to do some special things,” chief executive Rod Vawdrey (pictured) said.

“The fact that we have such a strong opportunity going forward is being reflected in how the market is reacting.”

The newly public company is now looking to aggressively tackle Europe and the US, having recently appointed former US ambassador to Australia Jeffrey Bleich as chairman.

Nuix is taking on a security and investigative software market valued by Morgan Stanley at $US27bn ($A36.3bn) in 2019, with the company’s “secret sauce”, the Nuix engine, which can search at least 1000 file types with high speed and accuracy. Analysts say the future is bright for the industry, given a rapid rise in data use combined with increasing corporate governance and surveillance.

The company also has plenty of room to grow, given it has lower customer revenues from the cloud than some of its peers, many of whom are currently trading at all time highs.