Yelp zooms to $26, shocking analyst whose estimate was $9
The online-reviews site Yelp got a great welcome from investors in its stock market debut yesterday. Shares jumped as much as 73 percent from the initial public offering price of $15.
Yelp! shares zoom
Yelp sold at least 7.1 million shares at the $15 price , putting at least $107 million in its coffers and valuing the site at nearly $900 million.
On the New York Stock Exchange yesterday,Yelp shares went as high as $26 ar one point -- before closing at $24.58, an increase of 63.9 percent from the IPO price. Yelp is known for consumer reviews of restaurants, as well as other businesses and services as varied as plumbers and churches.
Co- founder Jeremy Stoppelman told Bloomberg "We see a huge opportunity to become the strongest brand in local, much like you see with Amazon."
Yelp has yet to make a profit . Morningstar analyst Rick Summer, who thought Yelp was worth $9 a share in a pre-IPO report, said he was "shocked" at the stock's rise, saying, "We have entered into a little bit of Crazytown, U.S.A."