U.S. Foods shares rise on first day of trading

It’s turning out to be a busy month for initial public stock offerings.

US Foods Holding Corp. shares rose more than 8 percent Thursday, a day after raising more than $1 billion by selling 44.4 million shares at $23 per share. It plans to use proceeds from the offering to pay down debt and for general corporate purposes. The company, which posted revenue of $23.13 billion last year, is one of the country’s largest foodservice distributors. IPO research and investment firm Renaissance Capital said that was the largest IPO by sales since October of 2013.

Rosemont-based US Foods shares rose $1.91 to $24.91. The stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “USFD.” Underwriters have an additional 30 days to purchase another 6.7 million shares.

Meanwhile, Reata Pharmaceuticals Inc. led the way Thursday, as its shares rose 18.8 percent to close at $13.07. The Irving, Texas-based biopharmaceutical company sold 5.5 million shares at $11 each. The stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market with the symbol “RETA.”

Shares of construction products distributor GMS Inc. rose 91 cents, or 4.3 percent, to close at $21.91 while the broader markets barely budged after two days of large gains. The Tucker, Georgia, company had raised about $147 million by offering 7 million shares at $21 each. GMS trades under the “GMS” ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange.

Bucking the trend, shares of Atlanta-based Cotiviti Holdings Inc., which offers analytics-driven health care payment services, declined $1.89, or almost 10 percent, to close at $17.11. Cotiviti sold 12.5 million shares at $19 apiece and is offering underwriters an additional 30 days for the purchase of 1.9 million shares. The company is listed with the “COTV” symbol on the NYSE.

Renaissance Capital says May’s 16 IPOs makes it the busiest month for public offerings since last October.