(Reuters) - Shares of Vine Energy Inc fell 2% in their market debut on Thursday, after the Blackstone-backed natural gas explorer failed to impress investors in what was the first initial public offering by a U.S. shale producer since 2017. The lacklustre 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.