It was thumbs-up for digitally-native, mission-driven jewelry brand Brilliant Earth (NASDAQ NDAQ -1.1%: BRLT) on its first day of public trading. The stock value blew past its opening price of $12 per share to close at $17.16, a 43% rise.
Taking a cautious turn right before its NASDAQ debut, Brilliant Earth reduced its original $14 to $16 per share price range and halved its plans to sell some 16.7 million shares to 8.3 million. But by mid-afternoon, it topped $16 per share to reach a day’s high of $18.23. By end of day, nearly 8 million shares were sold.
Brilliant Earth joins a select group of next-generation, direct-to-consumer companies that have gone public, including The Real Real and Casper, but it’s a first in the jewelry category.
“Traditionally, investors and private equity weren’t interested in jewelry because it didn’t fit their P/E models,” says industry-insider Marty Hurwitz, founder of MVI Marketing. “Now they are taking a hard look at jewelry, not because the jewelry space conforms to their models, but their models are changing. This is just the beginning of a lot more investment in the jewelry space.”
For the rest of this article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2021/09/24/brilliant-earth-opens-strong-on-nasdaq-as-investors-back-its-ethical-jewelry-mission/?sh=643893615bc7