The shares of Nimble Storage Inc (NYSE:NMBL) skyrocketed during its initial public offering (IPO) on Friday. The stock closed at $33.93 per share, an increase of 61.56% from its offering price of $21 per share.
The flash-optimized storage solutions providers offered 8 million shares of its common stock during the IPO to raise $168 million and obtain a valuation of around $1.5 billion. Based on the closing price of Nimble Storage Inc (NMBL), its valuation is approximately is $2.38 billion.
Nimble’s CEO, SureshVasudevan said, “This is the beginning of the next stage of the journey for us. There’s a long road ahead and it will be another fun journey as we look ahead.”
Nimble Storage Inc (NYSE:NMBL) is not yet profitable as it recorded $30 million loss on $84 million revenue over the past three quarters. Vasudevan is confident regarding the future growth of the company.
In an interview with The Street, Vasedevan pointed out that the company is competing in a $40 billion market, and it has a platform that offers many advantages. According to him, Nimble Storage Inc (NYSE:NMBL) had been investing in research and development (R&D) and sales and marketing to generate significant growth.
He emphasized that the operating losses of the company as a percent of revenue had been decreasing quarterly. He said, “For us, it is maintaining a balance between continuing to invest for future growth while improving operating profits over time. Ultimately, we will become more profitable as that leverage keep improving over time.”
In a separate interview, Vasudevan said Nimble Storage Inc (NYSE:NMBL) has two advantages against competitor. It has less expensive technology and higher profit margin of around 65% compared with other companies in the industry.
Some of the largest investors of Nimble Storage Inc (NYSE:NMBL) include Accel Partners and Sequoia Capital. The venture capital firms each owned 18.4% stake in the company. Lightspeed Venture Partners has 13.9% interest.
Its biggest competitors in the industry include EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC), NetApp Inc (NASDAQ:NTAP), and Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ).
