Ardent Health falls 6% in lukewarm NYSE debut

(Reuters) - Healthcare provider Ardent Health's shares opened 6% below their initial public offering price in their NYSE debut on Thursday, reflecting new investor caution with new listings amid rate cut uncertainties.

Ardent's shares began trading at $15 apiece, giving the company a market valuation of $2.15 billion, compared with the IPO price of $16 each.

The Tennessee-based company sold 12 million shares on Thursday to raise $192 million after pricing its shares at $16 apiece, way below its expected offering price range of $20 to $22 per share.

The IPO market, which began to show signs of strong comeback after two dull years, has begun to falter as the U.S. Federal Reserve continues to delay interest rate cuts, prompting several companies to even postpone their debut plans.

Ardent is the fourth-largest privately held, for-profit operator of hospitals and a healthcare services provider in the U.S., according to the filing.

It has 30 acute care hospitals and more than 200 sites of care with over 1,700 providers across Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, New Jersey, Idaho and Kansas.

(Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)