, Columnist
IPO Market Takes Baton of Tech Insanity
Acquisitions and private sales have settled down, but the crazy window is open in the public markets.
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Six months ago, technology investors were complaining privately that bankers were lowballing stock prices when companies went public. Fast-forward to today; no one should be griping about overly conservative IPO prices.
Late Thursday, business software company Okta Inc. sold 11 million shares in its initial public offering. The IPO values Okta out of the gate at about 13.6 times its revenue over the past 12 months, based on its market value including stock options and other equity.1491571948909 Its shares opened at $23.56, up from the $17 IPO. That would be 18.8 times trailing 12-month revenue. This is not conservative.