Shares of Dunkin' Donuts soared at the launch of the company's IPO, climbing more than 43 percent on the day on the stock's first day of trading.

At one time during the day Dunkin' Brands Group Inc (NASDAQ: DNKN) stock was up almost 45 percent to $27.50, but the stock had settled slightly late in the trading day up 43.42 percent to $27.25 in heavy volume, at almost 39 million shares in play.

The company's new market value of more than $3.5 billion is much smaller than that of competitors McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) and Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), but the opening day of trading was a resounding success.

Dunkin' has been around a long time but the company is considered a growth stock due to large-scale expansion plans. Dunkin', which also operates Baskin-Robbins ice creams stores, sells coffee, donuts, bagels and other baked goods and specialty drinks.

Dunkin' was price at $19 late Tuesday before the stock began trading, up from earlier projected trading launch range of $16 to $18.

The chain has set a growth target of 15,000 U.S. stores in the next 20 years, which would give Dunkin' more stores than Starbucks. Dunkin' currently has 6,800 stores. The chain used to sell more donuts, but now coffee is Dunkin's biggest seller.

"The market's really going to like this growth story," said Morningstar senior analyst Joscelyn MacKay, speaking with Reuters. "Even though the Dunkin' Donuts brand has been around for 70 years, there's still great potential for the brand to increase its awareness around the United States."

Nyse