Twitter’s long-awaited public offering began in earnest today, opening at $45.10 per share — a 73 percent increase over the stock price of $26.
The company selected three of its “top users” to ring the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange and begin trading: “X-Men” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation” actor Patrick Stewart (@patstew), a member of the Boston Police force (@Bostonpolice) and anti-child slavery activist and lemonade stand owner Vivienne Harr (@vivienneharr).
Also read: Twitter Sets IPO Stock Price: $26 Per Share, for $18B Company Valuation
Twitter shares were priced at $26 each on Wednesday, but according to MarketWatch, they’ll trade much higher than that by the end of the day.
“More buyers than sellers at this point,” a trader told MarketWatch.
As for Twitter, it marked the occasion with a simple tweet:
— Twitter (@twitter) November 7, 2013