SeaWorld celebrates NYSE debut, releases penguins on trading room floor

SeaWorld entered the New York Stock Exchange with a splash on Friday in celebration of its becoming a publicly traded company, releasing a flock of penguins on the trading floor.

The penguins waddled through the NYSE, where they met and posed for pictures with officials. SeaWorld handlers also guided an otter and a lemur through the trading floor, though the penguins — who entered on their own blue carpet — received the bulk of traders’ attentions.

The penguins might have given SeaWorld the start it needed on the Stock Exchange -- shares for the theme park franchise rose as much as 22% on Friday, placing SeaWorld’s value at approximately $3.05 billion.

[h/t Buzzfeed]