NEW YORK — Cheers erupted from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday as cofounders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy rang the opening bell to announce Snap's hotly anticipated IPO.
The Snapchat maker's debut is the first tech IPO of the year and the largest tech deal since Alibaba went public in 2014.
Snap had priced its IPO at $17 per share, but demand pushed the opening price to $24 at a $33 billion valuation.
Snap's share price closed at $24.48 on its first day of trading, a 44% increase from its original IPO price.
On the floor of the exchange, Snap executives and early employees clapped, took selfies, and hugged each other.
Back at the company's Los Angeles headquarters, employees celebrated the IPO with doughnuts and champagne.
"Right now we're just celebrating," Snap's chief financial officer, Drew Vollero, told Business Insider after the stock began trading on Thursday.
Here's what it was like inside Snap's blockbuster IPO.
SEE ALSO: Meet the power players who help Evan Spiegel run Snap Inc.
A giant Snap Inc. banner adorned the the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, signaling the company's hotly anticipated IPO.
Snap signage was everywhere inside the exchange floor.
Company execs and early employees were given a roped-off area up front to watch cofounders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy ring the opening bell.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider