Shares of a Chinese humanoid robot maker soared 460% on the first day after its IPO

Shares of Unitree, a Chinese robotics manufacturer known for its dancing humanoid robots, surged 460%—more than fivefold—in the first trading session following its IPO in Shanghai on August 19. The success of the listing underscores the growing enthusiasm among local investors for technology companies, despite sanctions pressure from the U.S., according to the Financial Times.

Unitree’s shares rose as much as 629% at their peak during the day, before losing some momentum and closing 460% above the offering price. The stock closed at 150.8 yuan ($22.36) per share: the company raised about $900 million, with a valuation of approximately $9 billion, the FT notes. Market capitalization at the end of the first day of trading stood at 342 billion yuan ($50.7 billion), the newspaper added.

Due to the sharp surge, Unitree's price-to-earnings ratio for the past 12 months has approached 1,200, highlighting inflated expectations regarding the business's growth potential, according to the Financial Times.

Demand from retail investors for Unitree shares exceeded the supply by more than 5,500 times. This reflects “enormous investor enthusiasm for the company,” said Kenny Ng, a strategist at Everbright Securities International. “This is partly due to Unitree’s high brand recognition in mainland China,” he added.

The initial public offering has made Unitree “a rare pure-play player in the humanoid robot market on the Chinese A-share market,” said Min Li, head of Greater China automotive and industrial research at BofA Global Research. “This will serve as a benchmark for valuation and set the tone for subsequent IPOs by many other Chinese robotics companies,” the expert said.

Unitree is a brand widely known for its robots' performances—featuring dancing, somersaults, and boxing—at Lunar New Year gala concerts.

Last year, the company shipped 5,500 humanoid robots. It is one of the few publicly traded companies in the field of humanoid robotics, while its main competitor, AgiBot, remains privately held, according to the FT. Another rival, UBTech, is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The buzz surrounding Unitree’s shares comes despite the fact that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) banned the import of humanoid robots in July—a move that many viewed as targeting Chinese products, the FT notes. Overseas revenue accounts for more than 40% of Unitree’s total revenue, with the U.S. contributing between 13.3% and 18.4% depending on the year, the company reported.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor