By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- Winemaker Duckhorn Portfolio Inc (NYSE:NAPA) opened trading Thursday a hair higher than the price of their cheapest bottles of chardonnay or merlot. Investors are betting it's going to get better with age, as the shares continued their climb today.
Shares opened at $18.60 each on Thursday, up from the initial public offering price of $15, on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock is up almost 9% in Friday's session.
Duckhorn sells wine ranging from $20 to $200 a bottle in more than 50 countries. It was the eleventh-largest wine supplier by sales value in the U.S. in the 12 months through Oct. 4, the company said in a prospectus, citing IRI.
The company anticipates growing organically and through acquisitions, after more than doubling sales from 2015 to last year. Over the past three years, Duckhorn bought two winery brands, continuing to focus on the high-end market, including entering into the seltzer market with premium Decoy-branded wine-based seltzers in February. Other such extensions are expected in the future.
“We remain focused on luxury and are interested in a lot of companies to fit into our family of brands," President Alex Ryan told IPO Edge in an interview Thursday.
Founded in 1976 and backed by private equity sponsor TSG, Duckhorn's market capitalization is about $2 billion.