NantKwest gains in trading debut

NantKwest Inc. (NASDAQ:NK) gained $9.64 (39%) to $34.94 in its first day of trading Tuesday after raising $207.2 million in a bumped up IPO of 8.3 million shares at $25 that valued the company at $2 billion, based on 78.9 million shares outstanding. NantKwest raised an additional $17 million through the sale of 680,000 shares to Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ:CELG) in a concurrent private placement.

Earlier this month, NantKwest (formerly Conkwest Inc.) said it planned to sell 7 million shares at $20-$23; the company filed in June to raise up to $172.5 million. NantKwest also raised $71 million last month in venture rounds (see BioCentury Extra, June 25). ...