Sun Country Airlines gains 38% in its Nasdaq debut

Sun Country Airlines Holdings backed by Apollo Global Management Inc reported a 38 percent increase in their Nasdaq debut on Wednesday.

The low-cost carrier United States airlines, priced its initial public offering at $24 a share, above the range, to collect about $218 million as it anticipates a turnaround in leisure travel.

The stock opened at $33 per share, giving the airline a $1.84 billion value.

The first public offering of Sun Country was announced on the 8th of March. The airline offers 9,090,909 common shares, traded under the symbol "SNCY" in the Nasdaq.

Sun Country has a fleet of 31 passenger planes and 12 freight planes. Amazon.com Inc. also uses the carrier's air freight facilities.

In January of this year, the airline extended its services by launching 16 new routes and nine new airports, fueled by the COVID-19 vaccination rollout and banking on pent-up demand for leisure travel.

Moreover, the airline had a net loss of $3.9 million on revenue of $401 million last year, opposed to a net gain of $46 million on revenue of $701 million in 2019.

The company’s rival Frontier Airlines is the second cheapest carrier to file an initial public bid in a month and has an incentive to assume the first pandemic is inexpensive leisure.

The Denver-based airline has filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission, to raise $100 million in the deal.

Barclays Plc, Morgan Stanley, and Deutsche Bank AG are leading Sun Country's offerings.