NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Invitae has launched its initial public offering at $16 per share.
The San Francisco-based molecular diagnostics firm offered 6,350,000 shares of its common stock, bringing in gross proceeds of $101.6 million. It also has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 952,500 shares.
The offering price is above a range of $13 to $15 per share put forth in a preliminary prospectus filed two weeks ago. It also increased the number of shares offered from a previous expectation of 5,350,000.
Invitae plans to use between $24 million and $28 million of the proceeds for research and development; between $23 million and $27 million for marketing and sales; between $4 million and $6 million for capital expenditures, such as additional lab space and equipment; and the remainder for corporate and administrative expenses.
Invitae said previously that it plans to expand the number of genes it sequences for its tests from 216 to 500 this year. The firm noted in its amended filing that its test volume "has grown rapidly since commercial launch with over 2,000 billable tests delivered as of September 30, 2014. In addition, we delivered over 1,800 billable tests in the fourth quarter of 2014." But it also cautioned that it expects its testing business to grow more slowly prior to the expansion of the assay.
JP Morgan Securities is the sole book-running manager on the offering, while Cowen and Co. and Leerink Partners are acting as co-managers.
Invitae's shares began trading today on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "NVTA" and were up 8 percent at $17.27 Thursday morning.