Nutanix (NTNX) Skyrockets 145% On First Day Of Trading

On Friday, shares of enterprise data storage provider Nutanix Inc. NTNX are skyrocketing, up around 145% in afternoon trading to over $38 per share, well above its opening price of $16 per share. Nutanix’s market debut reflects the high demand for tech offerings during a relatively quiet year for IPOs.

The company sold 14.87 million shares at $16, more than the expected 14 million shares in the range of $13 and $15, raising roughly $240 million.

Nutanix is known in the investing world as a tech unicorn, or a start-up company that is valued at over $1 billion. It originally filed for an IPO months ago, repeatedly postponing its public debut after investor excitement for unicorns significantly cooled—unicorns, and tech startups in general, are notorious for growing fast and burning through cash even faster.

But after Twilio Inc.’s (NYSE:TWLO) blockbuster IPO this past summer, it looked like things for companies like Nutanix would be finally turning around. And they did. Along with raising $240 million, Nutanix’s valuation grew to $2.2 billion.

According to Business Insider, Nutanix released some financial numbers that showed the San Jose, California-based company with revenues still growing 84% year-over-year, billings “more than doubling,” and losses slowing. Nutanix reported a net loss of $168.5 million, and operating cash flow of $3.6 million. Business Insider notes that the company has yet to turn a profit, and its cash flow turned positive for the first time this year.

Nutanix was founded seven years ago, and is headed by co-founder Dheeraj Pandey. It currently boasts 3,768 end-customers, including Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) , Best Buy Co. (NYSE:BBY) , and Nintendo Co (T:7974). Ltd. (OTC:NTDOY) , according to its IPO filing.

Along with Twilio, Nutanix joins other tech companies who debuted this year, like digital advertising company Trade Desk Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD) and Japanese messaging platform Line Corp. (NYSE:LN) .

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