Absci's stock soars in public debut, as first trade values company at $1.9 billion

Absci Corp. received a warm reception on Wall Street Thursday, as the shares of the Washington-based provider of an artificial intelligence-powered drug creation platform opened 31.2% above the initial public offering price. The company said overnight that the IPO priced at $16 a share, which was in the middle of the expected range of between $15 and $17 a share. The stock's first trade was at $21.00 at 12:13 p.m. Eastern for 358,014 shares. At that price, Absci was valued at $1.90 billion. The stock's strong opening occurred on a day that the Renaissance IPO ETF fell 0.5% while the S&P 500 eased 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.