Dating app Bumble (BMBL) shares closed at $70.31 or 63% higher than their IPO price of $43 each. The stock opened at $76 during their public debut and soared more than 80% during the first minutes of trading. Bumble had sold 50 million shares, raising $2.15 billion.
The Bumble app — on which women make the first move, was started by Whitney Wolfe Herd, co-founder of the IAC-owned Tinder. At age 31, Wolfe Herd is the youngest female CEO to take a large US company public.
Wolfe Herd told Yahoo Finance Live the strong market response likely reflects the company’s ambitions to be more than a dating app.
“The world has recognized the power of online dating, and the world is about to recognize the power of finding community and connections around whatever you’re looking for on the internet. We have been meticulous about building a brand that protects women and engineers accountability and kindness into the internet,” she said moments before the stock started trading on the Nasdaq.
The company operates two apps, Bumble and Badoo, with more than 40 million users a month, according to the company’s S-1 filing.
The Bumble IPO has been one of the most anticipated high brand recognition debuts since Airbnb (ABNB) and Doordash (DASH). Both the vacation rental marketplace and food delivery platform went public in December, soaring on their first day of trading.
“We’ve seen IPO shares popping in the first days of trading, but Bumble is different in that it’s a more mature growth company with healthy positive EBITDA,” says Scott Kessler, global sector lead at research firm Third Bridge.
“Technology and innovation have been a focus and competitive advantage for the company,” said Kessler.
He anticipates future growth could come through acquisitions.
“Bumble could use at least some of its IPO proceeds for M&A in categories and/or geographies where its presence may be lacking,” he added.
Due to an error in a separate story, this article incorrectly attributed a quote to Whitney Wolfe Herd. The error has been corrected.
Ines covers the U.S. stock market. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre
