Peloton prices IPO on high end of expectations, valuing digital fitness company at $8.1 billion

At-home fitness company Peloton Interactive on Wednesday priced its IPO at $29 a share, the top of its original range between $26 and $29.

The offering raises $1.16 billion and values the digital fitness company at $8.1 billion. Peloton sold 40 million Class A shares, in line with original projections.

Peloton is the first company to make cycles and treadmills equipped with screens for users to join live and recorded fitness classes remotely. It has earned a loyal and avid following of users, who stream its classes from their homes, hotels or the office.

Peloton is a two-time CNBC Disruptor 50 company. It is No. 9 on the 2019 List and the first company from the 2019 list to IPO and the fortieth IPO in the seven-year history of the Disruptor 50.

At a time when many companies aspire to the Netflix model of subscription membership, the company boasts 1.4 million members, which it defines as an individual with a Peloton account. Its roughly $2,000 bikes and $4,000 treadmill help it command strong margins.

Growing membership has helped Peloton's sales grow to $915 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, up 110% from $435 million in fiscal 2018.

Those sales, though, have come at a cost. Its 2019 net loss widened to $245.7 million, from a net loss of $47.9 million in the prior year, amid growing sales and marketing costs.

Those costs may only grow further as Peloton eyes international growth.

The company is also battling litigation, including a $300 million lawsuit lodged by 10 music publishers and artistic groups, which accuse Peloton of using of more than 2,200 songs without licensing any of them.

Peloton, which will list under the ticker "PTON," expects to trade its shares on Nasdaq Thursday.

Its investors include Kleiner Perkins and L Catterton.

Disclosure: CNBC parent Comcast-NBCUniversal is also an investor in Peloton.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the correct valuation.