Vaccine vial maker Stevanato valued at over $5 billion in NYSE debut By Reuters

(Reuters) -Shares of Italy’s Stevanato Group S.p.A., which makes glass vials for COVID-19 vaccines and other healthcare products, fell more than 20% in their New York Stock Exchange debut, giving the company a market capitalization of over $5 billion.

Stevanato’s shares opened at $16.65 on Friday. The company had priced its initial public offering (IPO) at the lower end of its target range of $21 to $24 per share.

The Padua, Italy-based company offered 32 million shares in its IPO, raising about $672 million. It had earlier planned to sell 40 million shares.

Stevanato saw demand for its products and service go up due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides glass vials to about 90% of currently marketed COVID-19 vaccine programs, the company estimates, based on public information.

Majority of the company’s total revenue comes from its biopharmaceutical and diagnostic solutions segment that makes vials, cartridges and drug delivery systems, among others, according to a recent filing by the company.

Stevanato, the world’s second largest producer of glass vials, has more than 700 customers, including 41 of the top 50 pharmaceuticals companies, the filing showed.

The medical packaging company was originally founded as Soffieria Stella, a specialty glass manufacturer, by billionaire Sergio Stevanato in 1949.

It started its international expansion in 2005 with the purchase of a primary packaging company in Slovakia. Since then, it has made numerous acquisitions, including Italy’s Optrel and Denmark’s Innoscan, which specialize in inspection machine production.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:), BofA Securities and Jefferies (NYSE:) were the lead underwriters for the offering.