Fitbit Eyes Acquisitions Following IPO

Fitness device-maker Fitbit (NYSE:FIT) soared 48% in its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:ICE) on Thursday to $29.68, after pricing higher than expected at $20 per share.

Showcasing strong investor appetite for “wearable tech,” Wall Street liked Fitbit’s metrics. The company is profitable and experiencing 175% revenue growth year-over-year.  But some in the tech community are wondering if the company will continue to excel, as smartwatches like Apple Watch (NASDAQ:AAPL) take hold.

Referencing an expanding market, Fitbit CFO Bill Zerella told FOXBusiness.com that there is “enough room to fit more than one company.” He added that there is a “lot of opportunity for us to continue to grow.”

The company raised $732 million in the IPO, and will be using the capital to buy companies, said Zerella. Fitbit is “focused on an acquisition strategy,” he said. Referencing the recent purchase of Fitstar, Zerella said that Fitbit is going to continue to buy fitness-focused startups that will help users “achieve their goals” with “data, inspiration and guidance.”

When asked if the company would develop its own smartwatch, Zerella said that Fitbit is “sort of already there.” He said that the company refers to the Fitbit Surge as a fitness “superwatch” because beyond health-tracking it also has text alerts and caller ID.

“Fitbit has a big and expanding market for its lifestyle products,” said Max Wolff, chief economist at Manhattan Venture Partners. “Dominance in the hot and growing wearable health category is certainly valuable.” Fitbit sold 68% of the “full body activity trackers last year,” according to The NPD Group.

The company is venture-backed and its largest shareholders are Foundry Group and True Ventures, with a 29% and 22% stake respectively. CEO James Park and CTO Eric Friedman each have an 11% stake.

Lead underwriters were Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC).