Affirm skyrockets 110% in first day of trading after $1.2 billion IPO

• Affirm soared as much as 110% on Wednesday after the company's shares began trading hands publicly for the first time.
• The loan provider raised $1.2 billion in its initial public offering, selling 24.6 million shares for $49 each.
• Affirm's leap extends the trend of massive investor demand for IPOs. The craze emerged in December after Airbnb and DoorDash surged in their market debuts.
• Affirm trades under the ticker "AFRM" on the Nasdaq exchange.
• Sign up here our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.

Affirm spiked as much as 110% on Wednesday after the loan provider's public-market debut.

The company's shares started trading publicly at around 12:20 p.m. ET and quickly surged above its offering price of $49. Affirm raised $1.2 billion by selling 24.6 million shares in its initial public offering. The offering price had already been lifted twice, first from a range of $33 to $38 and then from a range of $41 to $44.

The post-IPO leap gives Affirm a market cap of nearly $24 billion based on shares sold in the offering. More than 15.5 million shares had traded hands by 1 p.m. ET. The company trades under the ticker "AFRM" on the Nasdaq exchange.

Affirm's debut marks the first major US IPO of the year and mirrors in-demand offerings seen at the end of 2020. Airbnb and DoorDash surged 112% and 86% in their respective first days of trading last month. The post-IPO pops lead some to question whether demand for first offerings was overextended and irrational. Last year saw IPOs raise a record amount of capital, with Wall Street's "blank-check" company frenzy providing a sizable boost.

Read more: Why Roblox's jilted underwriters could still see a payday after the gaming startup abruptly switched plans from an IPO to direct listingipo m

The Wednesday rally shows promise for a slew of upcoming IPOs. Pet supply store Petco, secondhand-goods marketplace Poshmark, and game developer Playtika Holdings are all poised to offer shares later this year.

Affirm was founded by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin in 2012 and raised about $1.5 billion on the private market before its IPO, according to Crunchbase data. The company's revenue was up 98% in September 2020 from the year-ago period, according to a recent filing.

Peloton's growth played a major role in Affirm's success throughout the pandemic, as the exercise equipment manufacturer counts for 30% of the lending company's revenue.

Affirm traded 104% higher, at $100.01, at 1:12 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

Now read more markets coverage from Markets Insider and Business Insider:

Inside a failed attempt to reinvent the IPO process with Airbnb and DoorDash

Twitter and Facebook have seen $51 billion in combined market value wiped out since booting Trump from their platforms

GameStop rips 93% higher as board-overhaul rally enters 3rd day