U Power Limited (UCAR) shares shot up 619.7 percent to close at $43.18 – more than seven times their $6.00 IPO price – in their NASDAQ debut today (Thursday, April 20, 2023). That’s a mega-moonshot – and the best performance on Day 1 for any IPO so far this year. U Power blew past the 255 percent opening-day gain scored by Multi Ways Holdings Ltd. (MWG) in its debut on April 3, 2023. By midday, U Power’s stock had surged past the moonshot milestone to trade up 158.5 percent at $15.51. A moonshot occurs when an IPO’s stock jumps 100 percent or more from its IPO price on its first day of trading. U Power opened at $8.61 – up $2.61 for a 35 percent gain from its IPO price – at 10 a.m. EDT today.
The stock was halted at least 22 times on NASDAQ for volatility, according to Bloomberg. Volume for the day totaled about 3.28 million shares.
The Shanghai-based EV battery-swapping technology company had trimmed its micro-cap IPO at pricing – to 2.42 million shares – down from 2.5 million shares in the prospectus – and priced the deal at $6.00 – the low end of its $6.00-to-$8.00 price range. The IPO raised $14.5 million. The stock in the IPO was offered by the Cayman Islands-incorporated holding company – and not by the Chinese business.
WestPark Capital was the sole book-runner.
U Power Ltd., based in Shanghai, is developing its EV (electric vehicle) battery-swapping technology for the commercial EV market under its proprietary UOTTA brand.
“We intend to primarily focus on developing commercial-use UOTTA-powered EVs, such as ride-hailing passenger EVs, small logistics EVs, light electric trucks, and heavy electric trucks, and their compatible UOTTA battery-swapping stations,” the prospectus says.
“Our UOTTA battery-swapping stations are designed for precise positioning, rapid disassembly, compact integration and flexible deployment, allowing battery replacement within several minutes,” the prospectus says.
U Power’s appeal stemmed from its segment – EV batteries.
The company, however, is not profitable, according to the prospectus. U Power reported a net loss of $6.84 million on revenue of $1.75 million for the 12 months that ended June 30, 2022, according to financial statements in the prospectus.
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