Investors have an enormous hunger for shares of Potbelly Corporation, it seems.
Shares in the sandwich chain more than doubled in their trading debut on Friday, opening at $28.66 each. That values the restaurant chain at $802.5 million.
Friday’s opening continues a streak of good fortune for the 36-year-old Potbelly, whose initial public offering price of $14 a share was already a dollar above the high end of its expected pricing range.
Founded in 1977, the chain, which also sells salads and smoothies, has grown from a Chicago phenomenon to a national presence, with 286 locations across the country. It also has 12 franchised shops in the Middle East.
Its revenues have grown as well: The chain reported $146.9 million in sales for the first half of the year, up nearly 12 percent from the same time a year ago. Using adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, Potbelly’s profit grew 8.7 percent to $16.2 million.
On the basis of generally accepted accounting principles, which take into account the company’s redeemable convertible preferred stock, Potbelly reported a $7.5 million loss attributable to common stockholders for the first half, widening 42 percent from the year-ago period.
The company now trades on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol “PBPB.†Its offering was led by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.
