reinsurer Partner Re when it began trading on NASDAQ on Friday even though the company has yet to write a policy.

Some 26 million shares -- almost equivalent to the total public offering of 32.5 million -- changed hands on the first day of trading.

One local stock analyst agreed that it appeared that many subscribers had sold out for a quick profit as PartnerRe Holdings' stock climbed from its opening price of $20 to a high of $23.50 before ending the day at $23.

"A lot of the same stock was probably traded back and forth several times during the day,'' said the analyst. "But a large number of people also appear to have sold out for a quick buck.'' Twenty-six million shares were offered initially in the US and Canada, with the remainder going on sale outside North America. All of the shares were sold by the company.

Net proceeds from the sale will be contributed to the capital of Partner Reinsurance Company and used to support its underwriting capacity.

Simultaneous with the public offering, Swiss Reinsurance Company, affiliates of John Head & Partners L.P., and certain other institutional investors, agreed to purchase common shares with warrants directly from the company.

Partner Re will provide property catastrophe and other non-casualty reinsurance to insurers and selected reinsurers on a worldwide basis.

Risks insured include windstorms, earthquakes, floods, fires and explosions.

The company will participate in both higher value accumulation zones, considered to be the US, Japan, and central and northern Europe, and lower value accumulation zones, considered to be southern Europe, Latin America, south-east Asia, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand and the Caribbean.