Surf Air’s Rough Debut a Cautionary Tale for Direct Listings

Going public via direct listing can be a bit of a gamble. For Surf Air Mobility Inc., it proved to be more like a spin on the roulette wheel.

When the stock finally began trading just before 3 p.m. Thursday in New York, it was on paper worth a quarter of the value expected the night before. While the reference price in a direct listing is merely an estimate of value — and a flawed one at that — the rocky debut could serve as a cautionary tale for other wanna-be public companies considering the route without the brand ...