Switch shares jumped more than 30 percent on the stock’s first morning on the market.

The data-center operator was valued at around $4.2 billion in a 31.3 million share IPO. The company raised $531.3 million in the offering, with shares priced at $17, above the expected the range of $14 to $16.

Shares opened at $21.70 a share on Friday, and shares continued to rise above $22 apiece by midmorning. The stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SWCH.

Switch, based in Las Vegas, rents cloud service infrastructure to clients including Amazon, eBay and PayPal.

The company posted net income of $35.3 million for the six months ended June 30, flat compared with the year-ago period, according to its prospectus.

Because Switch’s data centers are energy efficient and the company tends to hang on to customers for several years, Switch aims to be well-positioned to capitalize on data-intensive technology trends like the Internet of Things, wearable devices and autonomous vehicles, the prospectus said. Switch plans to use the funds for its IPO to expand its main campuses and enter new regions in the U.S.

The IPO was underwritten by Goldman Sachs & Co, J.P.Morgan, BMO Capital Markets and Wells Fargo Securities.

— Reuters and CNBC’s Anita Balakrishnan contributed to this report.

Source: Tech CNBC
Switch shares jump more than 30% in first day of trading