Shares in Lyft, the ridesharing company, stalled on Monday, falling below their initial public offering (IPO) on their second day of trading.
Lyft became the first of a new wave of giant tech companies to go public last Friday, selling shares at $72 a piece. The hotly anticipated sale saw Lyft’s share price leap to $78.89 on the first day of trading.
But on Monday, as US markets rose, Lyft’s shares dropped close to 12%, ending the day at $69.03.
New stocks often experience sharp swings in their first days of trading and the fall could soon reverse. But Lyft’s peers will be watching nervously. Over the coming months companies including Lyft rival Uber, Airbnb, Pinterest, Slack and WeWork are all expected to join the markets.
Many of these companies are heavily loss making. Lyft lost $911m last year, Uber lost $1.8bn. While they are fast growing, stock market investors have recently shown little patience for hot tech companies that do not have a clear path to profitability.
“Falling below its IPO price is a gut punch for investors and Lyft,” Wedbush’s managing director, Dan Ives, told CNBC. “This is a pivotal few weeks of trading ahead to gauge Street demand for the name as valuation and profitability continue to be the wild cards for tech investors.”
