loanDepot (NYSE:LDI) floated shares today on the NYSE following a significant decrease in its IPO price. The online mortgage lender listed shares at $14 each after previously filing an S-1 indicating its intent to float shares in a range of $19 to $21. The number of shares floated was far smaller than expected as well.
But the security closed up over 57% at $22 a share on volume of 7.7 million. The high of the day was over $23 a share.
loanDepot is a profitable Fintech that has sought to redefine the mortgage industry with its online lending approach. Founded over a decade ago, loanDepot has grown from 50 employees to over 10,000 serving more than 30,000 customers each month. The online lender claims 3% of the annual mortgage market, estimated at around $11 trillion, so there is plenty of room for the company to grow.
While we are not aware of any discussion as to why the IPO was downsized one must wonder if insiders are talking about leaving money on the table and pricing the offering too low. Of course, one day trading on an exchange may indicate very little in regards to investor sentiment and future valuation. It will be interesting to see how shares in loanDepot trade in the coming months.
Update: Shares in loanDepot have rocketed higher having topped $32 a share today. The fact that bookrunners could not get more than $14 a share may be a bit frustrating for the Fintech. At one point, the S-1 had indicated shares would float at $21. Today, even that looks like a bargain.
