: GEN Restaurant stock cheered in Nasdaq debut, after upsized IPO priced at top of range

Shares of GEN Restaurant Group Inc. GENK fired out of the gate Wednesday, as the GEN Korean BBQ restaurant chain’s stock opened more than 50% above the initial public offering price. The profitable company raised $43.2 million as its 3.6 million-share offering priced late Tuesday at $12 a share. The company had previously expected to sell 3.0 million shares at a price between $10 and $12 a share. The stock’s first trade Wednesday was at $18.30 for 81,940 shares at 11:11 a.m. Eastern, or 52.5% above the IPO price. At the opening price, the company was valued at about $580.9 million. The stock has pulled back slightly since it’s open as it was up 39.1% in midday trading. The stock’s strong debut comes as the Renaissance IPO exchange-traded fund IPO climbed 2.0% and the S&P 500 SPX inched up 0.1%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.