Sonos Inc (NASDAQ:Sono), the wireless speaker company, saw shares soar 32% today after it made its debut on the Nasdaq Thursday with an initial public offering valued at US$15 per share.
The US-based company’s stock went past its IPO price to hit a high of US$21 per share in its first day of trading, which was music to the ears of investors.
This closing gave the company an implied market value of US$1.95billion.
Shares were up 32% to US$19.91 at the opening bell on Friday.
READ:Sonos prices below its guidance in its IPO but its new bell sound will leave its mark on the Nasdaq
The makers of the sleek multi-room wireless speakers will now have more cash to play with after going public.
However, it is also heavily reliant on keeping existing partnerships with companies like Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet' Inc's Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL).
The speaker company, which makes the Sonos One and Sonos Beam speakers, uses voice-activated AI systems, much like Amazon's Alexa. It has had a successful partnershio with Alexa and Google and has hinted that Google Assistant integration with Sonos One Speaker is on its way this year.
But it now runs the risk of increased competition if these tech giants decide to make their own speakers and dump its services.
"Sonos has spent the last 16 years building a high-quality easy-to-use wireless sound system designed to work with all of the streaming services, voice assistants, and smart home companies,” said Sonos CEO Patrick Spence in a statement.
Sonos manufactures its products in China but has not made inroads in Asia. It sold 19 million products in 7 million homes worldwide as of March 31, 2018. Its products are popular in the US, Canada and several European countries.
-- Written by Belinda Robinson for Proactive Investors