Workplace-management software company monday.com (MNDY 1.33%) kicked off its initial public offering (IPO) in style on Thursday. It initially targeted a price between $125 and $140 per share, but as a result of strong investor demand, management eventually priced the offering at $155, above the high end of its previously announced range. Even that wasn't enough.

Shares began trading at 12:25 p.m. EDT today, opening at $173.15, 12% above its offering price. The stock jumped as high as $182 before relinquishing some of its gains. It closed the day at almost $179.  

Hands on a laptop keyboard.

Image source: Getty Images.

Monday.com provides no-code, cloud-based tools and virtual building blocks that help businesses create their own software apps and work management tools. The company boasts roughly 128,000 customers in more than 200 industries in 180 countries. 

The company attracted a couple of high-profile backers going into its public debut, namely the investing arm of salesforce.com (CRM -0.18%) and Zoom Video Communications (ZM 0.05%). The investors each purchased $75 million in shares at the IPO price in a concurrent private placement. With the stock offering of $155, the companies would have purchased more than 483,000 shares each. 

For the year ended Dec. 31, 2020, monday.com reported revenue that more than doubled to $161 million, up 106% year over year. The company's bottom line worsened, with a net loss of $152 million, compared to a loss of $92 million in the prior year. Its impressive top-line growth continued into the start of this year, with first-quarter revenue of $59 million, up 85% year over year, though its net loss of $39 million nearly doubled.

Shares of monday.com are listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol MNDY, and 3.7 million were sold at $155 each, raising more than $573 million in the offering. This values the company at more than $7.8 billion.