Warner Music Group on Wednesday priced its much-anticipated initial public offering at $25 per share, at the higher end of the $23-$26 range and valuing the company at $12.75 billion.
Its stock in early trading went as high as $28.97 after opening up 8 percent at $27. As of 12:05 p.m., the stock was up 15.4 percent at $28.85.
The music major's shares started trading on Nasdaq under ticker symbol "WMG," kicking offthe biggest U.S. IPO week of the year after a quiet time due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and the recession it is expected to cause.
The stock had been expected to price on Tuesday, but the company delayed that to Wednesday to support Blackout Tuesday when the music industry to show support for Black Lives Matter.