Funko CEO Brian Mariotti prepares to ring the Nasdaq opening bell in celebration of the company’s initial public offering of stock in New York on Thursday. (Nasdaq)

Funko CEO Brian Mariotti prepares to ring the Nasdaq opening bell in celebration of the company’s initial public offering of stock in New York on Thursday. (Nasdaq)

Funko has a wobbly debut on Wall Street as shares plummet

The company’s stock was initially priced at $12 per share. It closed on Thursday at $7.07.

EVERETT — Funko celebrated the listing of the company on the Nasdaq stock market Thursday with a host of company executives traveling to New York to ring the opening bell.

The celebration didn’t last long.

The toy and collectible maker saw its stock drop from an initial price of $12 a share to $7.07 a share at the close of trading on Thursday. That’s down 41 percent on the first day — the day’s biggest loser on the Nasdaq market.

Funko, which opened its headquarters in downtown Everett earlier this year, initially offered 10.4 million shares to be sold and is traded under the ticker symbol FNKO.

The company, at 2802 Wetmore Ave., makes figurines of pop culture characters from Marvel to DC Comics to Disney. Funko also makes apparel, home decor and stuffed animals. Its products line the walls of many big-box stores and comic book shops.

Funko filed paperwork last month with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to take the company public.

In the filing, the company said it would use some of the proceeds of the stock offering to pay down some debt and for general purposes.

In the paperwork, Funko showed skyrocketing growth. The company made $40 million in revenue in 2014 and that shot up to $425.7 million in 2016.

But investors at least initially shrugged. Bloomberg writer Stephen Gandel questioned how profitable the $10 figures are. He noted that his daughter has a nearly complete collection of Harry Potter Funko Pop! figures. He noted that the company, according to its prospectus, lost $10 million in the first half of this year.

Jim Davis: 425-339-3097; jdavis@heraldnet.com; @HBJnews.

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