Airtasker shares treble in price in just 2 days since listing

Shares in casual jobs marketplace Airtasker have soared once again on the second day of trade since listing to close up 67% at $1.75 on Wednesday.

Airtasker (ASX:ART) shares peaked at $1.94 briefly today having floated on Tuesday at an IPO price of $0.65.

The gained more that 60% on the opening day of trade to close Tuesday at $1.05.

That initial excitement accelerated today, with more than double the number of shares – 113.6 million – changing hands.

The company, valued the business at $255 million on listing following an $83.7 million raise, had around 3,800 retail shareholders to start, with current and former Airtasker staff backing the company and buying more than $1.6m in additional shares in the IPO at an average investment of $22,400. Around 700 “Taskers” – the people who do the jobs – invested around $900,000.

Perhaps it was the best paying job the Taskers have ever undertaken, with that stake now worth $2.42 million.

The numbers have also been kind to the company’s key backer, Peter Hammond from investment firm Exto Partners, who wrote his first cheque for co-founders Tim Fung and Johnathan Lui in 2013.

Hammond’s 17% stake is now worth is now worth around $118 million, while Fung’s 47.74 million shares have skyrocketed in value from $31 million to more than $83 million, although many of those shares in escrow for between three and 23 months.