Biometric screening company CLEAR closes up nearly 30% in its first day as public company

Biometric screening company CLEAR made its market debut Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange and is now trading under the ticker symbol “YOU.”

The company’s stock closed up nearly 30% at $40 apiece, higher than Tuesday’s IPO price of $31 apiece which valued the company at market cap of more than $5 billion.

CLEAR priced just over 13 million shares at $31 apiece on Tuesday, above its initial $27 to $30 price range. The stock rose by more than 35% in early trading, reaching a first-day high above $44.79.

CLEAR chairman and chief executive officer Caryn Seidman-Becker said the potential for the company to move beyond travel to places like office buildings, restaurants and stadiums presents “enormous opportunities.”

“My hope in a few years is that aviation is our smallest vertical, because the other ones are so much bigger,” Seidman-Becker said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Wednesday morning before shares started trading. “We just think there are extraordinary opportunities to bring the CLEAR platform to life and create frictionless journeys wherever you are really turning it into your daily habit.”