SolarCity Does Well in Delayed IPO

Stocks rose after dropping initial offering price

Shares in SolarCity Corp. rose more than 45 percent during their first day of trading Thursday, after the San Mateo company scaled back the amount of money it planned to raise in its initial public offering.

By mid-day, shares in SolarCity, which leases solar systems to homeowners, rose to $11.67 on the Nasdaq exchange, a significant pop from its offering price of $8.

The company initially wanted $13 to $15 for its stock and planned to start trading on Wednesday. But after institutional investors pushed back, the company delayed its IPO by one day and cut the proposed share price. At the same time, SolarCity increased by 14 percent the number of shares offered, to 11.5 million.