Popular investing app Robinhood saw its stock price surge on Wednesday, with shares hitting a new high of $85 apiece before dropping down to around $60. Trading of the stock was reportedly halted for volatility several times.
The wild trading comes after Robinhood went public last Thursday, making its debut on the Nasdaq with a staring price of $38 a share. The stock, with the ticker HOOD, was down 8% at the close of the first day of trading and had been roughly in that range until it began to make gains on Tuesday.
Robinhood's start at $38 a share, the low end of of its offering range, reflected investor concerns about the company's financial position and ongoing legal exposure. In June, Robinhood agreed to pay about $70 million after financial regulators accused the company of showing false and misleading information to customers. The company also faced scrutiny amid the GameStop stock surge, leading to a congressional hearing. Still, the company said last week that it netted roughly $1.89 billion from the sale of 55 million shares.
As of 11:30 a.m. ET, Robinhood shares were at $60.10, a more than 28% increase over Tuesday's close.
In a tweet Wednesday, Robinhood noted that "exchanges, not Robinhood, initiated temporary trading halts of HOOD." The company linked to an explainer on trading halts imposed by exchanges and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Earlier today, exchanges, not Robinhood, initiated temporary trading halts of HOOD.
— Robinhood Help (@AskRobinhood) August 4, 2021
Learn more about halts: https://t.co/ExhcmaJJGz