Planet Fitness hits its mark with IPO

“Judgment-free” budget gym chain Planet Fitness is the latest fitness company to go public. Shares of the Newington, N.H., company closed at $16 on their first day of trading Thursday, matching the issue price.

Planet Fitness’ gyms are known for cheap membership fees — as low as $10 a month — and their purple-and-yellow workout equipment. The company has touted its locations as a “judgment-free zone,” where behavior like grunting and dropping weights is discouraged.

Planet Fitness had 976 locations across the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada as of March, including 25 gyms in Southern California. Last year the company had $1.2 billion in revenue, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. With more than 7.1 million members, the company claimed to be the largest operator of fitness centers in the U.S.

In 2014, the total number of U.S. health club memberships hit 54 million, up from 52.9 million a year earlier, according to a 2015 report from the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Assn. Memberships have risen steadily, except for a dip in 2012.

The increased interest has encouraged fitness companies like SoulCycle to go public, raising funds for expansion. The indoor cycling chain started trading last week.

So far, companies including exercise-tracking device maker Fitbit and golf, country and sports club firm ClubCorp are doing well in the stock market, said Pamela Kufahl, director of content and engagement at Club Industry, a fitness industry publication.

Planet Fitness sold 13.5 million shares to raise $216 million.