LinkedIn Jumps After Banks Predict Stock Gains
LinkedIn Corp., the biggest professional-networking website, jumped 11 percent in New York trading after Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and UBS AG began coverage of the stock.
LinkedIn rose $8.31 to $84.69 at 2:27 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock climbed as high as $86.50 earlier in the session.
The company’s initial public offering last month helped open the floodgates to a wave of technology IPOs, making for the biggest year in new Internet stocks since the dot-com bubble burst in 2000. LinkedIn’s large membership and fast growth make it an attractive company, Brian Pitz, a New York-based analyst at UBS, said today in a research note.
“LinkedIn could transform the hiring industry through viral growth of its already massive, socially connected platform,” Pitz wrote. “The size and attractive demographics of the users are a primary, fundamental competitive advantage for the company and it represents a significant barrier to entry for the competition.”
LinkedIn’s top underwriters -- Bank of America, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley -- all initiated coverage of the stock with positive ratings today.
JPMorgan predicts that the shares will climb to $85 in the next 18 months, while Bank of America has a price target of $92. Morgan Stanley projects $88. UBS, which also assigned a “buy” rating, expects the stock to increase to $90.
Today’s gains add to the stock’s 9.2 percent jump yesterday, marking the biggest two-day increase since the week of its debut.
To contact the reporter on this story: Zachary Tracer in New York at ztracer1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net
LinkedIn Jumps After JPMorgan, UBS Predict Further Stock Gai
Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
A LinkedIn Corp. banner hangs on the front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on May 19, 2011.
A LinkedIn Corp. banner hangs on the front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on May 19, 2011. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
June 14 (Bloomberg) -- Alan Patricof, managing director of Greycroft Partners LLC, talks about the initial public offerings of web-based consumer companies such as LinkedIn Corp. and Groupon Inc. Patricof speaks on Bloomberg Television's "InBusiness with Margaret Brennan." (Source: Bloomberg)
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