Lululemon shares gain on IPO

Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. shot upon Nasdaq on Friday, the day of the initial public offering.

Lululemon finished at $28.12 US, after opening at $25 US. The company's IPO was priced at $18 US.

On the TSX, the shares finished at $29.72, uptheir open of $28.99.

The Vancouver-based fitness and yoga-wear company said earlier this week it expected its IPO would be priced between $15 and $17 US a share. That was higher than an initial estimate of $10 to $12 US a share.

The company is offering 18.2 million shares, including about 2.3 million from the company and 15.9 million from current shareholders.

The jointly listed stock will trade on Toronto under the symbol LLL, and on Nasdaq under the symbol LULU. For Friday however, the stock will trade on Nasdaq under the symbol LULUV as the offering is not expected to close until Aug. 2.

Lululemon has said it will use some of the cash from its IPO to fund the opening of up to 25 stores in 2007 and up to 35 more in 2008 in the United States and Canada.

The company currently has 59 stores in Canada, the United States, Australia and Japan.