Shares of Vine Energy Inc. fell 2% in their market debut on March 18, after the Blackstone-backed natural gas explorer failed to impress investors in what was the first IPO by a U.S. shale producer since 2017.

The lackluster debut underscores a lack of investor optimism towards the shale industry, despite oil and natural gas prices rebounding from last year, when they crashed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vine Energy’s stock opened at $13.75 per share, giving the company a valuation of $952.7 million.

The stock’s opening trade is a rare departure from the trend of eye-popping stock market debuts as the U.S. capital markets enjoy a record run. Tech heavyweights Coupang Inc., Roblox Corp. and Airbnb all surged in their market debuts.

Vine Energy priced its offering of 21.5 million shares at $14 per share on Wednesday, below the expected range. The company raised $301 million in its IPO.

Vine Energy earlier reported a pro forma net loss of $98.3 million on total revenue of $378.7 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2020.

Citigroup, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley were the lead underwriters for the offering.

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