Shopify rival BigCommerce surges 292% in first day of trading as investor demand in ecommerce remains strong

• BigCommerce, a Shopify rival that offers an ecommerce platform for online businesses, surged as much as 292% on Wednesday in its first day of trading.
• Shares of BigCommerce were priced at $24 last night, allowing the company to raise $216 million as it and existing stockholders sell 9 million shares to the public.
• Within three minutes of trading, shares of BigCommerce were halted due to volatility.
• BigCommerce trades on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol BIGC.
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BigCommerce, a Shopify rival that offers an ecommerce platform as a service aimed at online businesses, surged as much as 292% in its first day of trading on Wednesday.

The Austin, Texas-based company and existing stockholders sold a total of 9 million shares to the public, raising $216 million for BigCommerce.

The initial public offering was initially priced at a range of $18 to $20, but strong investor demand led to a range raise between $21 and $23. It was eventually priced at $24 on Tuesday night.

Shares opened for trading at $67.84, and rose to $79.40 within three minutes before being halted for volatility. The stock then jumped to $91.80 before again being halted due to volatility.

Shares eventually peaked at $93.99, representing a gain of 292% from the IPO pricing of $24.

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BigCommerce has more than 60,000 customers across 120 countries. High-profile customers of BigCommerce include Ben & Jerry's, Skullcandy, Sharp, and Sony.

The company has raised more than $200 million, with its last funding round of $64 million being led by Goldman Sachs. Other investors in the firm prior to the IPO include Softbank and GGV Capital.

According to the TheStreet, one big investor in the BigCommerce IPO is private equity firm Tiger Global Management. Tiger indicated that it planned to purchase up to 20% of the shares offered in the IPO.

Investors might be looking for the next Shopify, which operates a similar platform to BigCommerce and has seen its shares jump 173% year-to-date as it benefits from increased online shopping amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

BigCommerce trades on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol BIGC.

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