Here comes Roku’s IPO (ROKU)

Roku will begin trading for the first time in the public equity markets on Thursday.

Roku will begin trading under the “ROKU” ticker and will debut on the Nasdaq exchange.

Roku was seeking $12-$14 per share in its IPO and landed at the high end of that range at $14 per share. The company raised $126 million from its initial offering by selling 15.8 million shares. Private shareholders raised $93 million in the IPO by selling some of their shares. The company was valued at $1.3 billion after the IPO.

Roku is going public right as the streaming video war heats up. Disney made waves when it announced it would be creating its own ESPN and Disney movie and TV show streaming services. Netflix is the current host of Disney’s movie and TV content.

CBS and FX networks recently upped the profiles of their streaming services. CBS promoted its service by premiering the highly anticipated “Star Trek: Discovery” series on cable but placing a majority of the show behind a paywall on its streaming service. FX began offering an additional, on-demand package for traditional cable customers who want to watch FX content ad-free.

Roku makes hardware and software solutions for the rapidly splintering streaming video sector. The company lets its customers add their streaming services to a single device which allows access to many of these services in one place.

The company is trying to diversify though, and move into the higher-margin business of advertising.

Roku is valued at about $1.3 billion after its initial offering, but despite that high valuation, does not currently turn a profit. The company has faced some criticism of its dual-class share structure that allows the current executives to retain control of 98% of the company, even after the IPO.

Click here to watch Roku trade in real time after its IPO…