Shake Shack Inc. (SHAK) IPO Date 2015: Burger Joint To Kick Off Trading, Boosts IPO Range

Fast food burger joint Shake Shack Inc. kicks off its initial public offering Friday on the New York Stock Exchange and shares will begin trading under the ticker symbol "SHAK."

UPDATED: Friday, Jan. 30 - 4 p.m. EST

Shake Shack shares rose 118.24 percent Friday to close at $45.83 on th NYSE. The stock rose as high as $52.50 in intraday trading.

UPDATE: Friday, Jan. 30 - 10:12 a.m. EST:

Shares of fast-casual burger chain Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE:SHAK) soared more than 130 percent Friday to $47 per share after the company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The company's shares opened well above its IPO price of $21, valuing the company at more than $1 billion.

Shake Shack announced Thursday evening the company raised $105 million in its IPO and is offering $5 million shares at $21. The burger joint had previously increased its IPO range Wednesday to $17 to $19 per share, up from $14 to $16 a week ago.

The company filed for an initial public offering on Dec. 29 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and plans to use a portion of the IPO proceeds to open new stores and renovate existing ones. The company opened 10 U.S. stores in 2014 and plans to open at least 10 new domestic stores each year beginning in fiscal 2015, for the "foreseeable future." Shake Shack plans to expand its footprint to at least 450 stores by opening eateries in new and existing markets both in the U.S. and abroad, according to the SEC filing.

There are currently 63 Shake Shacks worldwide in nine countries and 34 cities, including Dubai, Istanbul, London and Kuwait. There are 31 U.S. company-operated Shacks, seven in Manhattan and 24 elsewhere. The Middle East has been the company’s most prominent growth market with 20 Shacks in operation, followed by four in Turkey, two in Russia and one in the U.K.

The company is banking on its key "Shack-onomics" metrics. “Shack sales,” which represent combined sales of food and beverages in domestic company-operated Shacks, generated $79 million for the first nine months of 2014, excluding licensing revenue. That compares to $56.8 million during the same period a year earlier, an increase of 39 percent.

Shake Shack is owned by the Union Square Hospitality Group. Restaurateur Danny Meyer opened the company's first location in New York’s Madison Square Park in 2004. As part of the IPO, Shake Shack will spin off into a separate company.

J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Barclays are among the major underwriters for the IPO, according to Shake Shack's preliminary S1 documents.

So-called fast casual food chains have been popular with investors in recent years. Habit Restaurants, a West Coast-based burger chain, soared 120 percent on its first day of trading when the company went public in November. It was one of 288 U.S. initial public offerings, which raised a total of more than $94 billion in 2014, according to Dealogic.