Pinterest shares soared 25% on first day of trading in New York

Shares in social media website Pinterest soared by more than 25% when the company's stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company had set the price for its 75 million shares at $19 (£14.56) on Wednesday evening, above its $15 to $17 target range.

The opening trade at $23.75 took the scrapbooking website's market valuation to more than $12bn.

Pinterest says it has 250 million users and reported revenue of $756m (£579m) last year.

Its primary source of income is from advertisements that are placed among the "pins" or posts on the social media website.

The IPO was underwritten by a 12-member team comprising of bankers from Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.

Its performance will be a test of the tech IPO market, following last month's disappointing debut from ride-hailing firm Lyft.

Lyft had an impressive build-up - raising more than expected when it went public - but shares have since dropped by about 30%.

Pinterest is the biggest listing of a US social media company since Snapchat's parent company made its debut in 2017. Snap's stock price has also fallen since its IPO.