Lyft prices IPO at $72 a share, valuing company at $24B

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Lyft set the price for its stock at $72 per share late Thursday, setting the stage for the ride-hailing pioneer’s hotly anticipated stock market debut.

The price is at the high end of a revision Lyft made after high investor demand prompted the company to increase its initial goal of fetching $62 to $68 for each of the nearly 31 million shares sold in the IPO. The price sets Lyft’s market value at $24 billion, which will quickly change Friday after the shares start trading on the Nasdaq exchange.

Investors embraced Lyft despite racking up $3 billion in losses since its 2012 inception on the premise that its growing popularity will pay off in the long run.

Lyft is trying to catch up to Uber, which is expected to go public later this spring.

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This is story has been corrected from an earlier version to reflect that Lyft has accumulated nearly $3 billion in losses since its inception, instead of debt.