Afterpay soars after US rival doubles on Nasdaq debut
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Buy now, pay later stocks surged on Thursday after US rival and sector pioneer Affirm jumped 98 per cent in its first day of trading, earning Afterpay's founders a $194 million pay day.
Shares in Australian-born payments juggernaut Afterpay soared 9.7 per cent to $121, just shy of its December 29 record close of $122.09. It added $2.7 billion to its market capitalisation and took the personal wealth of each of its founders, Nick Molnar and Anthony Eisen, to $2.39 billion.
Anthony Eisen and Nick Molnar of Afterpay earned $194m each in Thursday's trade.
James Brickwood
The ASX-listed challengers all climbed, with Sezzle adding 7.5 per cent to $6.99 and Zip Co firming 5 per cent to $5.72. Openpay was up 1.8 per cent to $2.32 and Splitit added 1.8 per cent to $1.81, while Laybuy jumped 13.7 per cent to $1.45.