It was an interesting year for technology IPOs in 2012, but for most of those companies going public, it was a better year than last.
According to Mashable, 59% of Internet companies that went public had their stocks trading above their IPO price as of midday last Wednesday. In addition, almost half (47%) were trading higher than the price of their first trades. This compares to 2011 data that had 42% of the Internet companies trading higher than their IPO price by year’s end and only 14% higher than their first trade prices.
This may be surprising given this year’s headline-grabbing Internet IPO, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) with all of its negative press coverage. Kevin Pleines, a Birinyi Associates analyst explained to Mashable, “Facebook received the bulk of the press in the first half of the year, first on their valuation then the subsequent poor performance. Many of the other internet companies flew under the radar.”
In addition, after Facebook’s IPO struggles, some technology companies rethought their IPOs, dodging a similar bullet. Prior to Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s IPO in May, ten Internet companies hit the public markets, but post-Facebook only six did. 2012 internet IPOs: VIPshop, Workday And Splunk are big winners, we get into more detail below.
So who did we miss under the radar? Take a look through Dec. 26’s closing prices.
VIPshop (NYSE:VIPS) – Here’s the crown jewel. This online retailer was 2012’s first Chinese company to go public in the U.S. While its stock fell on the first trading day, it is this year’s top-performing Internet IPO, up 171.9%–almost triple.
Workday (NYSE:WDAY) – After Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) which went public in May, Workday was this year’s biggest IPO. Its stock increased 74% on the first trading day and by year’s end, it had almost saw its IPO price double. This represents one of 2012’s greatest technology IPOs stories.
Splunk (NASDAQ:SPLK) – This company had an April IPO, raising $230 million and to-date, its stock has risen almost 70%.
Demandware (NYSE:DWRE) – This company that provides platforms for e-commerce had beginner’s luck, trading up 50% on its first day, as of Wednesday it had jumped to 69.3%.
Kayak (NASDAQ:KYAK) – The stock is up 52.3%, in November it was acquired by Priceline (NASDAQ:PCLN) with a $1.8 billion price tag.
YY Inc (NASDAQ: YY) – The Chinese social media company is up 38.1% after going public in November. It represented the first time in seven months that a Chinese company had filed for a U.S. IPO.
Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) – Also filing this fall (October), the company is up 37.7% and has consistently traded higher than its $17 per share IPO price.
Yelp (NYSE:YELP) – This company went public prior to Facebook and its stock has been strong, rising 20%-plus from its IPO through last week.
Acquity Group (NYSEAMEX:AQ) – In a case of don’t count the little guy out, this digital marketing firm did have the smallest IPO for the year. It underwent a rough week back in April, but since then it has pretty much traded higher than its IPO price for the remainder of the year; it is up 5.3%.
