Spotify Debuts in the Market and Shares go Flying

Sweden-based music streaming service Spotify just made its grand entrance into the stock market on Tuesday.

The company debuted a little before 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday on the NYSE.

Shares opened at $165.90 at 12:43 p.m. ET. This was 27% above the stock’s reference price of $132 according to FactSet. For the day, the stock closed up 12.89% and made headlines especially for using a “direct listing” to go public. This means Spotify let existing shares float publicly without underwriting banks to smooth the process.

According to Spotify, it was against a “pomp or the circumstance” of a traditional initial public offering. Traditional IPOS have a lockup period that follows.

Rival Pandora Media saw its shares slip a little over 3% on Tuesday however Apple and Amazon both saw gains, despite both companies also offering rival services.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT) and have not been compensated for this article.