Fitbit shows off its pipes in NYSE debut, as shares soar

Fitbit flexed some muscle Thursday, and its shares rocketed 50 percent higher in the first day of trading for the fitness-tracking-gear maker. Fitbit’s initial public offering priced at $20 per share, bringing in more than $730 million and valuing Fitbit at about $4.1 billion in total. The company had already raised its stock price expectations this week and said the IPO would include additional shares, but the offering still surpassed its estimates. Fitbit Inc. makes devices that can be worn on the wrist or clipped to clothing. They track steps taken, calories burned and other data and can be synced up with smartphones. The company also sells a Wi-Fi enabled scale that tracks body mass and other data.

There’s over $200 billion of consumer spending on health and fitness. This is a massive market. There’s room for more than one dominant player.

Fitbit CEO James Park

Following in the footsteps of Kleenex, Xerox and Google, the company’s name has become synonymous with its entire category. Whether it’s being spotted in White House photos of the president’s wrist or cited on popular television shows, Fitbit has grabbed all the attention in the growing fitness-tracking movement, which includes players like the Nike+ FuelBand and Jawbone. The company also seems to be benefiting from the perception that the Apple Watch isn’t turning out to be the market-dominating powerhouse some expected. No one should count Apple out of the wearable wars just yet. But its initial stumbles seem to have some analysts and investors convinced that Fitbit may have the better product right now.

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