Sonos Stock Up 22% as Company Debuts on Nasdaq

By Janko Roettgers

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Sonos’ stock initially saw just modest gains as the company started trading on Nasdaq Thursday morning, but started to gain steam soon after: The company’s share price was up more than 22% from a $16 per share opening price about 2.5 hours after its stock market debut, trading at around $18.25.

The Santa Barbara, Calif.-based smart speaker maker had announced $15 as its IPO pricing late Wednesday, pricing itself below its original guidance of $17-$19 per share.

For its public markets debut, didn’t just ring the Nasdaq opening bell. The company actually proceeded to redesign the sound of the bell, which had been unchanged since 2000.

“Sonos Sound Experience Lead Giles Martin and Academy Award-winning sound engineer Chris Jenkins worked with Nasdaq on the project,” the company wrote in a blog post. “Experimenting with different instruments and techniques, our sound engineers artfully created a bell that both honors Nasdaq’s roots as a disruptor and speaks to our shared commitment to the pursuit of innovation, knowledge and improvement.”

Investors often closely watch a company’s first day of trading for indicators on how the market values the company. Stock performance on that critical first day can have a significant impact on how the company does in the following weeks, but it’s not necessarily a good omen for the long-term health of a company.

Snapchat corporate parent Snap for instance saw its stock trade up 44 percent on its first day, but now trades significantly below its IPO opening price. Facebook’s stock on the other hand gained less than 1% on the first day. To date, Facebook’s stock price is up more than 450% over its original IPO opening price.

This post is continuously being updated throughout the first day of trading.