Shares of Irvine memory products maker Netlist Inc. debuted Thursday at the low end of their range but climbed some 35% at their Thursday peak.
Before trading, Netlist’s shares priced at $7 apiece, the low end of a $7 to $9 range. The offering raised an estimated $43 million, down from earlier expectations of $55 million or so.
The shares soon made up for the low pricing and were trading above the range’s high end in afternoon trading. They opened up 7%, later gained 35% and closed up about 15%
The company’s market value wasn’t immediately known Thursday, though Netlist was expected to be at around $175 million after the offering.
Netlist makes circuit boards with memory chips for Dell Inc. and other computer makers.
The company expects to use proceeds from the offering for acquisitions, paying down around $1 million in debt and for production in China.
The company is one of several local memory products makers, a sector dominated by Fountain Valley-based Kingston Technology Co.
Netlist joins a small club of publicly traded memory companies, along with Santa Ana-based SimpleTech Inc. and Fremont-based Smart Modular Technologies Inc.
