Shares of Rubrik rose 16% in their NYSE debut after the company’s IPO price topped the range

Shares of Rubrik rose 16% in their NYSE debut after the company’s IPO price topped the range

Shares of data management software maker Rubrik
surged in its New York Stock Exchange debut on Thursday, the latest sign that public market investors are showing interest in tech IPOs. Shares opened at $38.60 a share, after the Microsoft-backed company priced its IPO at $32 a share on Wednesday, beating expectations of between $28 and $31 a share.

Rubrik ended trading Thursday up 16% at $37.

In selling 23.5 million shares, it raised $752 million, leaving it with a valuation of $5.6 billion. Rubrik shares trade under the ticker “RBRK.”

Many technology companies appeared on the public market in the 2010s as the central bank kept interest rates low. Concerns about a weakening economy beginning in late 2021 are causing investors to become less interested in unprofitable companies. Since then, several young tech companies have been ready to try going public. But that could change. Reddit
and Astera Labs
, which sells data center connectivity chips, was announced in March.

Rubrik, which was founded a decade ago, reported a net loss of $354 million in its most recent fiscal year, compared with a loss of $278 million the year before. The company now generates 91% of its revenue from subscriptions, up from 59% two years ago.

Microsoft invested in the company in 2021. Rubrik’s co-founder and CEO, Bipul Sinha, has 8% control. Lightspeed Venture Partners, in which Sinha was previously a startup investor, has 25% of the voting power.

Sinha said Rubrik could not control market conditions but could prepare itself to go public.

“When we see the market is receptive and we’re ready, we go,” he said in an interview.

A company will decide on the timing of its IPO in the next six to eight weeks, depending in part on input from bankers, said Ravi Mhatre, managing director at Lightspeed Venture Partners, which was the sole investor in Rubrik’s first round of venture capital.

Input from investors is also critical.

“Bipul spends a lot of time with public market investors in 2023 and then in 2024,” said Mhatre, whose firm invested about $362 million in Rubrik.

From those conversations, Sinha got an idea of what investors would be interested in.

“People are looking for strong companies to go public, companies that have the potential to be long-lasting businesses, have a trench in the market, have something unique to offer in the market and clearly win in the market,” Sinha said. “Staying in the public eye is the key, not going public.”