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Pandora IPO: Online radio site's stock surges as trading beginsJun 15, 2011 (Contra Costa Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Pandora Media rocketed out of the gate in the first day of trading for the Oakland Internet radio company, but in mid-day trades, the gains -- which surged as high as 63 percent Wednesday -- faded. It was the type of debut that was reminiscent of the gains seem for dot-com stocks a decade ago, as well as the upswing for LinkedIn when it began trading last month. The surge in the company's stock defied a slump in the overall stock markets. The provider of online music was up about $2.75 at about $18.75 a share in mid-day trading. The company had priced its initial public offering at $16. The IPO raised nearly $235 million. Founded in 2000, Pandora Media has never turned a profit and has stacked up $92 million in losses. However, sales have been rising sharply for the company. For the 2011 fiscal year that ended Jan. 31, Pandora generated $137.8 million in sales and lost $11 million. Sales more than doubled and jumped 150 percent compared with the 2010 fiscal year, when Pandora lost $24.9 million. The company has captured a more than 50 percent market share of Internet radio listening time, according to a report issued in November 2010 by Ando Media, an audience measurement firm. Contact George Avalos at 925-977-8477. Follow him at Twitter.com/george_avalos. To see more of the Contra Costa Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.contracostatimes.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |