7 companies go public Friday, with Metaldyne raising $231M and New Relic stock surging

NEW YORK –  Shares of New Relic and Hortonworks were the strongest midday performers Friday as seven companies priced their initial public offerings.

IPO activity and proceeds have picked up compared to a year ago as the markets keep rising. Health care has been the most active field: Renaissance Capital says 346 companies have filed for IPOs in 2014, and 100 of those are in the health care industry. On Thursday LendingClub Corp., which connects borrowers with investors for personal and small business loans, went public and saw its stock climb 56 percent. U.S. shares of Momo Inc., a Chinese company that develops social networking applications, rose 26 percent on their first day.

Shares of New Relic Inc. surged $10.94, or 47.6 percent, to $33.94. The company’s IPO brought in $115 million, as the offering of 5 million shares priced above expectations at $23 per share. The company provides a cloud-based software analytics platform, and its shares are trading under the ticker symbol “NEWR.”

Open-source business software company Hortonworks Inc. raised $100 million, as the company expanded its offering to 6.3 million shares and the IPO priced above expectations at $16 per share. Trading under the symbol “HDP,” the stock jumped $6.62, or 41.4 percent, to $22.62.

The IPO of Connecture raised $53.1 million as the company expanded its offering to 6.6 million shares. However the offering priced at $8 a share, which was less than its prior range of $12 to $14. Connecture Inc. powers public and private online health insurance marketplaces, and its shares are trading under the symbol “CNXR.” The stock rose 92 cents, or 11.5 percent, to $8.92.

The IPO of aircraft leasing company Avolon Holdings Ltd. raised $272.2 million. The offering of 13.6 million shares priced below expectations at $20 a share. In midday trading the shares fell $1.02, or 5.1 percent, to $18.98, as the broader markets edged lower. The stock is trading under the ticker symbol “AVOL.”

Metaldyne Performance Group cut its offering to 10 million shares, and its IPO priced below expectations at $15 per share. The company makes powertrain and safety components for light vehicles, and its offering raised $150 million. The stock is now trading under the ticker symbol “MPG,” and it added 3 cents to $15.03.

Workiva’s IPO priced at $100.8 million, as the company offered 7.2 million shares and the sale priced at $14 a share, in line with expectations. The company runs a software platform that companies use to manage the Securities and Exchange Commission filing process. Its stock is trading under the symbol “WK,” and it lost 37 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $13.63.

James River Group Holdings Ltd.’s offering raised proceeds of $231 million, which was below expectations. The company offered 11 million shares at $21 each, below a range of $22 to $24. The company sells casualty reinsurance and excess and surplus lines insurance in the U.S. Its shares are trading under the ticker symbol “JRVR,” and they edged up 19 cents to $21.19.