Investors in Fitbit will be forking over $20 a share Thursday as the fitness band maker's New York Stock Exchange trade value is besting previous predictions.
The initial public offering share value of $20 is $1 more than the expected highest pricing of $19, reports the New York Times. Earlier estimates had that amount much lower, in the $13 to $17 range.The health wearables company is trading under the symbol FIT.
The share price, states the Times, will result in a $732 million IPO and values the company at $4.1 billion. Fitbit increased the number of shares to be sold to 36.6 million, from an earlier stated 34.5 million.
Initially Fitbit's IPO filing stated it intended to raise $358 million given an estimated value of $3.3 billion.
The IPO value illustrates the increasing adoption and consumer demand for wearables focused on health and fitness, despite recent Argus Insights research claiming Fitbit is struggling to maintain its dominance in the smartwatch market and expectations that its market share in the global wearable category may be weakening.
As FierceMobileHealthcare has reported, Apple's move into the industry with its heralded Watch, the company's first-ever wearable, has been deemed as a game-changing technology that will drive sales and consumer use.
The news is a positive for Fitbit, which recently recently was accused in legal documents by competitor Jawbone of employee poaching and alleged intellectual theft by newly hired former Jawbone staffers, and a second lawsuit regarding patent infringement, according to the Times.
For more information:
- read the New York Times report
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