FILE PHOTO: The Nasdaq logo is displayed at the Nasdaq stock market site in New York City, U.S., July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper/File Photo

By Rishab Shaju and Ateev Bhandari

(Reuters) -Medtech firm Heartflow was valued at $2.27 billion on Friday, with its shares surging 47.4% in the Nasdaq debut, as the IPO market gathers momentum and outrides tariff worries.

The shares opened at $28 and went as high as $31.5, signaling robust investor appetite for companies leveraging artificial intelligence for healthcare.

Heartflow sold about 16.67 million shares at $19 each in its IPO on Thursday, raising $316.7 million.

The Bain Capital-backed company's debut comes as expectations of a softer trade policy and lower interest rates boost investor sentiment, which had nosedived after U.S. tariffs in April stoked recession fears.

The market sentiment reflects "nervous excitement", said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at IPO-focused research and ETFs provider Renaissance Capital.

"We saw a spike in volatility last week, but at the same time stocks (are) flying up on AI-driven earnings blowouts."

Space tech startup Firefly Aerospace and design software firm Figma saw stellar first-day reactions in recent days, strengthening prospects for tech-focused companies to go public.

Heartflow's first-day pop could help boost market perception for other medtechs, which often rely on vast research and development expenditure, with clinical testing further pressuring the bottom line.

Beta Bionics and Kestra Medical had solid debuts earlier this year, but are now trading below their IPO price, like most medtech IPOs of the past year.

"If investors keep losing, they just won't show up and companies will struggle to raise IPO funding," Kennedy added, referring to underwhelming post-listing performance from several medtech IPOs in the past year.

Founded in 2007, Heartflow helps physicians diagnose and treat heart disease.

Its AI-enabled products can create a personalized 3D model of a patient's heart via a single specialized scan.

The company's revenue rose 39% in the quarter ended March 31 from a year ago. Its losses, however, widened 55% to $32.35 million during the same period.

(Reporting by Rishab Shaju and Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Shreya Biswas)