Shares of household goods maker Reynolds Consumer Products weathered market jitters fueled by the spread of the coronavirus to rise 6% in their Nasdaq debut on Friday, marking an optimistic start to the 2020 IPO season.

The company's shares opened at $27.5, giving Reynolds a market value of $5.57 billion.

Reynolds on Thursday priced its IPO of 47.2 million shares at $26, within the marketed price range of $25-$28 per share, raising about $1.2 billion.

It is the first US IPO in 2020 to raise more than $1 billion and comes after a lackluster show by some high-profile debuts last year, including Uber Technologies and online dentistry company SmileDirectClub.

Reynolds sells storage products and tableware including the popular Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil and Hefty trash bags. In a regulatory filing, the company said its products are used by about 95% of households in the United States.

Unlike a slew of loss-making companies with valuations over $1 billion that went public last year, Reynolds is profitable and expects net income of between $220 million and $224 million in 2019, up from $176 million a year earlier.

However, net revenue is seen slipping to around $3 billion from $3.14 billion a year earlier.

The company "is profitable and operates a mature business in a slow-growth market", said Jay Ritter, an IPO expert and professor at the University of Florida.

"The valuation is in line with other mature consumer staples companies, with a price-to-earnings ratio based on forecasted earnings that reflects the low risk of the stock." Reynolds intends to use the proceeds from the IPO to cut its debt of $2.48 billion.