Astera Labs scores over 70% gain in eye-popping debut

Astera Labs,

20/03/2024 20:33

(Repeats to additional subscribers, updates stock activity,
recasts throughout)
    ** Astera Labs  ALAB.O  surges 76% in public debut on Weds,
as chip firm taps into investor exuberance for artificial
intelligence plays
    ** ALAB opened at $52.56 vs $36 IPO price and traded as high
as $63.50. Stock finished Weds up 72.3% at $62.03
    ** Roughly 16.6 mln shares changed hands. The VWAP
(volume-weighted avg price) was $56.54, LSEG data shows
    ** Based on stock's close, Astera has market value of about
$9.5 bln, more than triple the $3 bln valuation co achieved in
its last funding round in 2022
    ** Astera and shareholders sold 19.8 mln shares above an
upwardly revised deal size and range of $32-$34, for ~$713 mln
gross raise
    ** Co sells high-speed data transfer technology for AI
computing and other cutting-edge data center applications
    ** Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan leading 12-firm underwriting
group on the IPO
    ** Astera's new listing comes as Nvidia  NVDA.O , the poster
child of AI, kicked off its annual developer conference this
week

 (Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed
are his own)
 ((lance.tupper@thomsonreuters.com
lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))