Seven weeks after the botched US stock market debut, the shares of the German sandal manufacturer Birkenstock have made it above the issue price of 46 US dollars (just under 42 euros) for the first time. The stock reached a high of $46.60 during trading on Wednesday before falling back to $45.75 at the close.
When Birkenstock went public at the beginning of October, it was caught, among other things, by investors’ concerns about consumers’ willingness to buy. On the first day of trading alone, the price fell almost 13 percent below the issue price and initially remained weak. But good market figures at the start of the Christmas business around Black Friday dispelled investors’ concerns and Birkenstock shares also rose sharply in the last few days.
Birkenstock had already set the issue price at $46 rather conservatively, in the middle of the previously set range of $44 to $49. The traditional company, headquartered in Linz am Rhein in Rhineland-Palatinate, currently has a market value of around 8.6 billion US dollars. (dpa)