Birkenstock shares extend rally, hit IPO price for first time

By Chibuike Oguh

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of German sandal maker Birkenstock extended their gains on Wednesday, hitting the initial public offering price for the first time, following a buoyant holiday shopping season.

Strong spending by U.S. shoppers during the Thanksgiving holiday as well as Black Friday and Cyber Monday propelled retail sales to a record this year, potentially benefiting luxury brands such as Birkenstock.

The company's shares opened at $41 on Oct. 11 and have traded below the IPO price of $46 and dropped to as low as $35.83 just days after listing. On Tuesday, the stock jumped more than 9% and continued its rally on Wednesday, rising as much as 2.7% to $46.60.

The lackluster market debuts of Birkenstock as well as other hotly anticipated offerings from chip designer Arm Holdings, grocery delivery app Instacart and marketing automation firm Klaviyo have dampened hopes for a U.S. IPO market resurgence.

The median price target of the 17 analysts covering Birkenstock is $47.21 and the current recommendation is "buy", according to LSEG data.

Birkenstock is heavily shorted, with 5.71 million shares worth roughly $259 million having short interest, according to data and analytics firm Ortex. About 32.3 million shares were sold on the IPO.

The company is owned by U.S. private equity firm L Catterton, which is backed by French billionaire Bernard Arnault and his luxury goods empire Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy.

(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; additional reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Lance Tupper and Lisa Shumaker)