LinkedIn soars in first day of trading
Shares of the business social network end the day at $94.25, more than double the opening price on the NYSE of $45.
LinkedIn saw its shares skyrocket in its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, ending the day up a staggering 109 percent at $94.25.
The dramatic uptick started early--the company's stock, which opened at $45, had more than doubled just after 7 a.m. PT today to better than $92 per share, and then bounced for a while between $80 and $98. By midday, LinkedIn's shares continued to hit new highs, topping out at $122.70.
"We are focused on creating a valuable service for our members, and on managing the business," a LinkedIn spokesperson told CNET in reaction to its strong stock market showing. "We are not focused on the short-term fluctuations of the stock price. Over the long run, we believe that the stock market is efficient and rational. We believe that there is a tremendous business in connecting talent with opportunity at a massive scale and that the market will fairly value what we offer."
LinkedIn's announcement yesterday that it was pricing its shares at $45 for its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange took some investors by surprise. Earlier this month, the world's biggest business social network said it planned to offer shares in the $32 to $35 range, which would have been more in line with the company's financial performance.
In 2010, LinkedIn generated revenue of $243 million and a profit of $15 million. The company currently has more than 100 million registered users.
LinkedIn, which first announced plans to go public in January, is offering a total of 7.84 million shares. Over 4.8 million of those shares are being offered by LinkedIn itself, while the remaining 3 million shares are being sold off by stockholders.
LinkedIn is trading under the ticker symbol LNKD.
Update at 9:24 a.m. PT and again at 1:07 p.m. PT: Added midday stock price fluctuations and closing share price.