Qualtrics Raises $1.55 Billion as Stock Soars on Its Market Debut

By Avi Ben Ezra | Friday, 29 January 2021 | Business, Tech

Qualtrics International, a business that develops application software solutions, recorded huge success as it secured $1.55 billion in an initial public offering (IPO), beating already raised expectations after it priced the IPO above the high end of its expected range.

Extremely High Demand for Tech IPOs

The IPO rose by double digits almost immediately upon the start of the trading. The Utah-based business priced 51.7 million shares at $30 apiece, higher than the previously announced price range of $27 to $29 per share. The business first planned to offer its stock priced in a range of $20 to $24 per share, as reported by Startup Savant.

The company’s stock jumped by nearly 52% and is currently worth around $45.50 per share, according to the TradingView data. The IPO represents a final step after the business became independent from its mother company SAP SE, which bought it in 2018 in an $8 billion deal.

Just before the IPO, the tech startup modified its filing on concerns that SAP may have breached Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules by touting the company’s stock.

Christian Klein, CEO of SAP, has made statements in the updated filing that suggested that SAP might have planned to boost the stock of its daughter company.

Furthermore, Klein is one of the members on the board of directors at the company, and his statements came amid Qualtrics’s quiet period, an SEC-instructed ban on promotional publicity.

This type of embargo bans management teams from making any statements or estimates about the value of their company. Klein also said the company’s IPO was "massively oversubscribed," indicating high interest by institutional investors in the software business.

"Mr Klein's reference to doubling the revenue of (Qualtrics) since SAP acquired (Qualtrics) on January 23, 2019, was based on the revenue attributed to (Qualtrics) as a reporting segment of SAP. Mr Klein was, in these interviews, speaking to SAP shareholders and, as such, was relying on financial information in SAP's public financial statement," it said.

The tech startup said it feels it has pioneered a new type of application software, which it refers to as experience management.

"Our XM Platform helps organizations both design and improve the experiences that turn their customers into fanatics, employees into ambassadors, products into obsessions, and brands into religions," the business said in its IPO filing.

The startup’s software platform has about 12,000 customers.

Summary

Qualtrics raised $1.55 billion in its IPO, outshining estimates and reaching a price above the high end of its expected range.

About the Author

Avi Ben Ezra

Avi Ben Ezra is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Cofounder of SnatchBot and SnatchApp (Snatch Group Limited). He leads the Group’s long-term technology vision and is responsible for running all facets of the tech business which includes being the architect of the platforms and UI interfaces.