![](https://d15shllkswkct0.cloudfront.net/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2020/05/vroom.jpeg)
![](https://d15shllkswkct0.cloudfront.net/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2020/05/vroom.jpeg)
Shares in online used-car seller Vroom Inc. more than doubled in their debut on the Nasdaq today as the market itself briefly broke 10,000 for the first time.
Shares of Vroom, which filed to go public in May, opened at $22, above an initial price range of $18 to $20 per share. By the close of regular trading, Vroom’s shares were up 118%, to $47.90. The stock continued to rise in after-hours trading, up more than 3% as of 8 p.m. EDT.
Founded in 2013, Vroom pitches itself as an e-commerce platform designed to offer a better way to buy and sell used vehicles. The company employs “data-driven technology” to bring “all phases of the vehicle buying and selling process to buyers wherever they are.” The company had strong venture capital backing coming into its IPO, having raised $721.3 million from investors including T. Rowe Price, General Catalyst, Durable Capital Partners, L Catteron and Fraser McCombs Capital.
Strong investor interest in Vroom came amid both COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing civil unrest in the U.S., its primary market. Although the U.S. unemployment came in lower than expected in May, the rate is still 13.3%, far higher than during the global financial crisis and its highest level since the Great Depression. Double-digit unemployment would normally result in weak consumer demand, including buying cars, but in this case, Vroom may have benefited from the switch to e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vroom debuted on a day that the Nasdaq Composite Index hit an all-time high. The index scraped hit 10,001.88 at 1:45 p.m. EDT before softening in later trading, closing at 9,953.75. It was a return to form for the Nasdaq following the pandemic after it had gotten close to the 10,000 mark in mid-February before dropping as low as 6,860.67 March 23.
The rise of the Nasdaq has been driven by strong support for tech stocks, with many tech companies being among the few winners during the pandemic as millions are forced to work from home online. At the top of the index sits the big-four tech firms and they all hit record highs.
Facebook Inc., Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. all hit new highs today, with a combined market share for the companies approaching $5 trillion. Apple sits at the top of the list with a $1.5 trillion market cap, while Facebook is the only company among the four with a market cap below $1 trillion.
“Thanks to their large market caps, they’ve also helped buoy the stock market, which has staged a comeback despite huge unemployment numbers sparked by widespread stay-at-home orders,” CNBC noted.
THANK YOU