Fitbit stock soars well above expectations, landing among top 10 market debuts this year

Fitbit landed among the top 10 stock market debuts of the year Thursday morning when shares opened 52 percent above their $20 IPO offer price. The price per share soared to $30.40.

“I feel a lot of gratitude for everyone who has been on the journey with us, all the employees, the investors who have struggled with us over the years, and our customers, as well,” Fitbit CEO James Park told CNBC from the NYSE trading floor.

“There’s over 200 billion dollars of consumer spending on health and fitness every year. This is a massive market; there’s room for more than one dominant player,” Park continued, citing Fitbit’s wide range of products (but mostly activity trackers) as a competitive differentiator. Available devices include the Fitbit Surge, FitbitCharge, FitbitCharge HR, Fitbit Flex, Fitbit Zip, Fitbit One, and the Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale.

At $20 a share, Fitbit is valued at $4.1 billion. At its opening price of $30.40 a share, it’s valued at $6.2 billion — making Fitbit one of the most valuable consumer technologies in the world.

According to its IPO filing in May, Fitbit took in $745.4 million in revenue in 2014 and $131.8 million in net income. Sales dramatically jumped from 2013, when the company reported $271 million in revenue and a $52 million net loss. Fitbit’s devices alone accounted for 68 percent of the activity tracker market in 2014.

“We’re more than just wearables,” Park continued Thursday morning. “We’re going to be focusing a lot on software and services. So again, the mission of the company is really to get people healthier and more active.” Oh, and when asked about legal nemesis Jawbone? “We really respect all of our competitors,” is all Park had to say. 

At the writing of this article, over 41 million shares were being traded Stay tuned for more updates.