Virgin America shares rise 30% on first trading day
Richard Branson’s airline Virgin America saw a 30% rise in shares during its first day of trading in New York on Friday.
The company, which is listed on the Nasdaq, sold 13.3m shares initially priced at $23 to raise $307m altogether.
Branson owns close to 25% of Virgin America, which became profitable last year after several consecutive yearly losses since its launch in 2007.
The airline reported a profit of $10.2m after bringing in revenue of $1.42bn in 2013.