Groupon officially went public on Friday, November 4th, months after filing for a 750 million dollar IPO. The IPO raised 700 million dollars for Groupon, which places the value of the company at 12.7 billion dollars. This result make’s this IPO the biggest for a technology company since Google in 2004.
However, despite the impressive showing, industry analysts are still skeptical of Groupon’s long-term outlook.
“This stock is very much like a lottery ticket,” Espen Robak, president of Pluris Valuation Advisors, told the Washington Post. “You could argue it’s a very expensive lottery ticket.”
“If I were running a big fund, I’d have placed a huge order for Groupon, too. And then I’d flip immediately,” tweeted Business Insider’s Henry Blodget, referring to reports that Groupon stopped taking orders from investors a day early because they ran out.
Groupon has faced an increased amount of competition, but has improved itself by adding a loyalty program (Groupon Rewards), electronics offers (Groupon Goods), travel and hotels (Groupon Getaways), and instant deals (Groupon Now). Additionally, Groupon is testing high end deals with Groupon Reserve.