Traders greet Levi’s with enthusiasm
NEW YORK — Levi Strauss & Co.’s return to the public markets got an enthusiastic reception from investors who believe the iconic brand is ready for a comeback — and still has a lot more room to grow.
The stock, which is listed under the ticker “LEVI,” opened for trading Thursday at $22.22, above the $17 offering price and blowing past the originally expected range of $14 to $16. As of Thursday’s close, shares popped nearly 32 percent, closing at $22.41 per share. That gave Levi’s a market value of $8.64 billion, according to Factset.
Levi’s seems to have successfully convinced investors, at least for now, that it has a lot of opportunities to expand beyond just jeans, from tops to bolstering its women’s business.
In its prospectus, the company says it plans to use the proceeds from the public offering to bolster its international presence and retail footprint.
But jeans are still the company’s mainstay and that was apparent on Thursday at the New York Stock Exchange, when in a rare move the exchange suspended its “no jeans” policy to commemorate Levi’s re-entry, transforming the floor from suits and ties into a sea of blue denim, with its traders and visiting Levi’s employees sporting jeans and denim jackets.
At 166 years old, Levi’s stands out from a string of tech companies — from Spotify to Dropbox — that have made their debuts in the public markets in recent months.
“I would like to say we’re the original Silicon Valley startup,” said CEO Charles Bergh, dressed in 501 jeans and a denim jacket at the NYSE on Thursday. “We started during the Gold Rush, and we are still headquartered in San Francisco. And I do think that that story has resonated with investors.”