by Chibuike Oguh
Shares of German sandal maker Birkenstock BIRK.N extended gains on Wednesday, hitting the initial public offering price for the first time, following a strong holiday shopping season.
Heavy spending by U.S. shoppers during the Thanksgiving holiday, Black Friday and Cyber Monday has propelled retail sales to a record high this year, which could benefit luxury brands such as Birkenstock.
The company’s shares opened at $41 on Oct. 11 and traded below the IPO price of $46, even falling as low as $35.83 a few days after the IPO. On Tuesday, the stock jumped more than 9% and continued its climb on Wednesday, gaining as much as 2.7% to $46.60.
Birkenstock’s lackluster market debut along with other highly anticipated offerings from chip designer Arm Holdings ARM.O , grocery delivery app Instacart CART.O and marketing automation company Klaviyo KVYO .N dampened hopes of a resurgence in the U.S. IPO market.
The median price target of the 17 analysts covering Birkenstock is $47.21 and the current recommendation is “buy,” according to LSEG data.
Birkenstock is heavily shorted, with 5.71 million shares worth about $259 million having short interest, according to data and analytics firm Ortex. About 32.3 million shares were sold in the IPO.
The company is owned by US private equity firm L Catterton, which is backed by French billionaire Bernard Arnault and his luxury goods empire Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy LVMH.PA .