Shares of Oscar Health dip in NYSE market debut, begins trading at $36 per share

Shares of Oscar Health dip in NYSE market debut, begins trading at $36 per share

Shares of Oscar Health dipped 8% in its initial public offering Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

The stock began trading at $36 per share. Oscar had priced its shares at $39 apiece, above its target range of $36 to $38. At $36 per share, it has a roughly $7.1 billion market cap.

Oscar uses a mix of technology, provider partnerships and member experience to try to make health insurance pricing clearer for patients, while giving doctors more flexible payment models. Joshua Kushner, the brother of former President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, CEO Mario Schlosser and Kevin Nazemi (no longer with the company) founded the New York-based company in 2012.

The company said in its filing to go public that it has 529,000 members across 18 states. It competes against health giants such as UnitedHealth and CVS Health's Aetna, but previously told CNBC it believes it can succeed through its focus on customer service and technology.

Oscar's market debut comes amid strong interest in virtual health companies, as Americans seek alternatives to more traditional brick-and-mortar care.

"Covid, in my view, has had an accelerated impact in shifting the healthcare system more to what's consumerization, to what's virtual, and to what's more risk sharing