Taking stock of 2011: The stock market stories that rocked 2011 – Social networking sites| Investing

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Taking stock of 2011

What were the stock stories that really rocked the markets last year?

Jan 2, 2012

Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

2. Social networking sites

LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD), the social network site for professionals and job hunters, launched its IPO in May 2011 at a price of $45. On its first day of trading, shares rose as much as 171%. That initial enthusiasm didn’t fade - even today shares are still up around 125% over the IPO price. LinkedIn was seen on the street as the litmus test for social networking site IPOs – Twitter, Facebook and Groupon were all watching with their own IPO plans hanging in the balance. Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN) did follow in November, with an IPO share price of $20. On opening day, shares rose as much as 40%, but by the end of the first month its shares had slipped down by 42%.

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