Shares in DreamWorks Animation SKG surged 34 percent in midday trading Thursday, its first day as a public company.

DreamWorks Animation’s stock traded at $37.42 a share, up sharply from the company’s initial public offering price of $28 a share.

That IPO price exceeded the initial price talk the company articulated earlier this month in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In that filing, DreamWorks said it expected to price the shares at between $23 and $25 apiece.

Under the terms of the IPO, DreamWorks Animation, which produces the NBC series “Father of the Pride,” sold 27 percent, or 29 million shares, of the company on the New York Stock Exchange. Founders Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg and David Geffen collectively own the rest of the company, with Mr. Katzenberg and Mr. Geffen retaining voting control of the company.