The (opening) bell tolls for TheeIf Youre Lucky

IPO activity so far in 2021 has already surpassed that of any full year, with an average of more than 20 companies going public per week. That means there just aren’t enough opportunities to ring the bell.

Companies are doing everything they can to make their dreams come true.

GXO Logistics Inc.,

which originated from XPO Logistics Inc.

earlier this month and manages supply chains for companies such as Apple Inc. and Nike Inc.,

was able to get a bell as the trading debut fell on a Monday when few quotes happen. But Malcolm Wilson, GXO’s London-based Chief Executive, loved ringing the bells but couldn’t reach New York due to Covid travel restrictions.

He had to get a little creative, he says. On August 2, a life-sized cardboard cutout of Mr. Wilson other GXO team members on the New York Stock Exchange whistleblowing stage. (GXO chairman Brad Jacobs rang the bell.)

The NYSE and the Nasdaq, meanwhile, are doing their best to keep everyone happy, serving consolation prizes to deranged whistleblowers as a first trading feast. For that celebration, stock exchange officials give the company a small hammer and a large bell; the CEO or other officials call it on the trading floor after the first trade in the company’s stock.

Markforged Holding Corp.

began talking to the NYSE months ago about ringing the opening bell for the iconic exchange as the stock began trading in July, according to a person familiar with the matter. The maker of the 3D printer, which went public through a merger with a special acquisition company, learned about two weeks before the big day that the credit would go to another company instead of F45 Training Holdings Inc.,

who considers actor Mark Wahlberg an investor.

Markforged instead got the chance to ring the Buttonwood bell that morning, named after the exchange’s founding document that legend says was signed under a Buttonwood tree. That bell is tucked away on a balcony and rarely rings.

Markforged agreed. About 10 days before the debut, NYSE officials called back. The closing bell was available if they wanted to ring it too.

Exchanges usually ring their bells twice a day, once to indicate stocks may change hands and again to mark the end of the trading day. Bell purists, however, say the opening bell is best, as no manager wants to risk an awkward, forced smile ringing the bell after a disappointing debut.

Nevertheless, Markforged agreed, even if it meant rushing back to Boston for a party they had planned that night.

D-Market Electronic Services and Commerce,

aka Hepsiburada, got a rawer deal. The Turkish e-commerce company worked hard earlier this year to secure an opening bell at Nasdaq ahead of its IPO, according to people familiar with the matter.

With a valuation of over $3 billion at the time, this is the type of company that the two major exchanges typically compete for.

But when the IPO finally arrived and started trading on July 1, a better-known company, donut maker Krispy Kreme Inc.,

also went public that day and took out the Turkish company before the bell rang. D-Markets stock started trading without ceremony.

When Robinhood executives rang the Nasdaq bell at the trading platforms’ debut on July 29, there was one notable absence: The confetti Nasdaq usually rains while the bell is ringing. Earlier this year, the company removed its signature confetti animation from the app after allegations that it gamified .

Clocks have been a staple of stock trading since the 1800s. A Chinese gong was the original bell of choice for the NYSE, according to its own history of the bell. The NYSE bell is now digital but not automated. The whistleblower has to press it for 10 seconds on opening and 15 seconds on closing, signaling to traders how long to start trading or complete final orders. (A final hammer, traditionally struck three times, indicates that the market is officially closed.)

When guest bells fail at these seemingly simple tasks, the punishment can be swift. The trading floor traders don’t value executives or celebrities who don’t follow the rules.

Rapper producer Sean Combs rang the closing bell at the NYSE in 2016 on behalf of vodka brand Ciroc, for which he was a brand ambassador. He rang for about four seconds before reaching for the hammer and eliciting a loud boo on the trading floor. Mr. Combs laughed.

When John Pagliuca, the CEO of N-able Inc., celebrated his company’s first transaction on the NYSE floor in July, stock exchange officials brought a giant bell and a personalized hammer to hammer it. The hammer broke in his hand.

When professional golfer Patrick Reed rang the NYSE closing bell on behalf of FedEx in 2016 Corp.

, the top of the hammer started to swing in the air. They told me to make sure I pressed the bell hard enough, Mr. Reed says now.

He won the Barclays tournament that weekend, part of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Mr. Reed kept the hammer, reassembled it and now travels with it as a good luck charm.

Write to Corrie Driebusch at [email protected]