Attendees play Super Mario video games on the Nintendo Co. exhibition stand at the Gamescom gaming industry event in Cologne, Germany, on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019.

Shares of Nintendo surged on Friday after the Japanese gaming company said Thursday that its second-quarter operating profit more than doubled amid strong sales for the recently launched Switch Lite device.

By Friday's market close in Japan, Nintendo's stock skyrocketed 7.46%.

Between the Switch Lite's launch on Sept. 20 and the end of the quarter, Nintendo said it sold 1.95 million units of its handheld-only device.

Sales figures for the Switch Lite — a stripped down and lower-priced version of Nintendo's flagship Switch console — are being closely watched by the market. Analysts previously told CNBC that the device was part of Nintendo's strategy to sell more than one Switch console to each household.

"We expect Switch Lite sales volume to reach 3 (million) full-year, so the 2Q sell-in total of 1.95 (million) was a surprise," the Morgan Stanley analysts said.

Meanwhile, 4.98 million units of the hybrid console Switch were sold in the six months to September.