Snowflake's shares double after dazzling IPO record

Software firm currently more valuable than Uber, Dell and General Motors

Snowflake’s $3.36 billion initial public offering is a record for a software company. Reuters

Snowflake shares opened at $245 in New York trading – more than double its IPO price.

The cloud-data software maker had an amazing stock-market debut on Tuesday, which turned the eight-year-old software company into a business valued at about $73 billion (Dh268.12bn)

Its $3.36bn initial public offering is a record for a software company and the biggest in the US this year.

Snowflake's 104 per cent share gain at the opening bell was the third-highest for an IPO of $1bn or more on a US exchange.

It was also the biggest since Florida-based equipment rental company Herc Holdings went public in 2006.

At the close of trading, shares were priced at $254, down from an earlier high of $311.

The firm is currently more valuable than Uber, Dell and General Motors.

With IPOs roaring back after a spring lull as the coronavirus pandemic hit the US, Snowflake's listing even attracted hedge fund chief Warren Buffett.

Founded in 2012, the software firm is a challenger to Amazon as a provider of data warehouse technology.