Moelis Hit A New High And For Good Reason

Shares of Moelis & Co (NYSE: MC) were trading higher by nearly 4 percent Wednesday and hit a new 52-week high of $37.55 after the company reportedly landed a giant new advisory contract.

According to a CNNMoney report, Moelis, an investment banking advisory firm valued at just $2 billion, has been hired by Saudi Aramco to act as its sole independent adviser on an expected initial public offering.

Saudi Aramco is the world's largest oil company, but experts can't agree on a proper valuation. Some estimates peg the giant to be worth as much as $10 trillion, or 30 times Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM).

Saudi Aramco has been floating the idea of an IPO and could sell up to 5 percent of the company. The proceeds will be used by the government to jump-start a sovereign wealth fund as part of a bold initiative to radically transform the country's economy away from fossil fuels and create millions of new jobs in manufacturing, tourism and other fields.

Although Moelis won't underwrite Saudi Aramco's IPO, the fact that the relatively small investment bank beat out some of the world's biggest banks is very notable.

CNNMoney noted that Moelis will be advising Saudi Aramco on who to pick as underwriters and the oil giant is on track to become a publicly traded company in 2018.