(Yicai) Aug. 19 -- Shares of Unitree Robotics closed 460 percent higher on their first trading day in Shanghai, giving the first humanoid robot developer to list in the Chinese mainland a market capitalization of CNY341.7 billion (USD50.7 billion).

Unitree [SHA: 688836] finished at CNY845 (USD125.31) per share on Shanghai's Nasdaq-style Star Market, after earlier surging by as much as 629 percent from its initial public offering price of CNY150.8.

The Hangzhou-based company’s stock market debut came amid a broad selloff in mainland equities. Spurred by worries over the economic outlook stemming from higher long-dated US Treasury yields, US shares tumbled overnight and major Asian markets sank today, with technology listings bearing the brunt of the losses.

The Star Composite Index, the Star Market’s benchmark, ended down 7.2 percent, with robot sector names falling along with the broader market. GF Fund’s CNI Robot Industry ETF [SHE:159050], which tracks the CNI Robot Industry Index, came off 9 percent.

Unitree raised CNY6.1 billion (USD900 million) in its IPO, netting CNY5.9 billion after costs. The firm initially planned to raise CNY4.2 billion, earmarking CNY2 billion for a intelligent robot project, CNY1.1 billion for research and development, CNY445 million (USD61 million) to develop new-generation smart products, and CNY624 million to build a smart robot manufacturing base.

Despite investor enthusiasm for Unitree, a large-scale commercial closed-loop system for humanoid robots has not yet been formed, with the company's orders primarily for custom-made products, while its profit model is not yet mature.

Unitree's commercial closed-loop manufacturing is more evident in quadruped robot dogs and humanoids used in specific scenarios, particularly in scientific research and performance settings, a source at an investment firm told Yicai. So its initial post-IPO valuation "reflects more the fluctuations of market sentiment and the scarcity of similar investment targets," the person noted.

The market is waiting for more leading robotics makers to go public to establish a basis for comparative valuation, the source said, adding that this requires IPOs by other industry leaders such as Deep Robotics and AgiBot. Once they join Unitree and Hong Kong-listed Ubtech Robotics, the valuation framework for the sector will be fully established, they stressed.

“By that time, there’ll be a relatively objective standard to evaluate whose business model is better and whose technology is more advanced," the source said. Until then, Unitree’s early stock performance will have a big impact on the valuations of other robotics companies awaiting IPOs, the person added.

If Unitree's market cap can remains at elevated levels, it will help subsequent stock market entrants achieve solid valuations and more favorable listing opportunities, they pointed out. Conversely, if Unitree’s market value declines a lot, the path to listing could become much harder for other embodied AI companies, the source added.

Unitree's performance after going public will also provide component makers with a real benchmark for order volumes and pricing, helping to shift valuation methodologies throughout the supply chain away from speculative themes to validation based on mass production, according to Tian Lihui, a finance professor at Nankai University.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev