Shares of private-equity firm Oaktree Capital Group recovered some of their early losses during afternoon trading yesterday but still closed 1.4 percent below their initial public offering price.

Shares of the Los Angeles-based company closed at $42.39 during their first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading opened at $41, 5 percent off Oaktree’s IPO price.

Oaktree, which had $75 billion of assets under management as of the end of 2011, priced 8.84 million shares at $43 on Wednesday, raising $380.3 million. It had intended to sell 11.3 million shares at between $43 and $46 each.

The offering valued Oaktree at around $6.5 billion.

Oaktree’s IPO is viewed by some investors as a litmus test for a public offering from Carlyle Group, which is expected to kick off its IPO roadshow next week.