IPO's - Are they worth the risk?

[cruiser]

After talk of Facebook looking to do an IPO (Initial Public Offering), I contacted my financial advisor and have been told that Canadians can't get in on the IPO until the stock hits the stock exchange. Other talk I've heard is that the actual IPO won't be happening until May.

In saying that, I am wondering about the risk of taking your chance on an IPO. Have people done good on them? Some stocks that I heard that didn't do well are: Tim Hortons; Duncan Donuts; Google; Groupon.

Anybody out there ever taken a chance on an IPO. Care to share the name of it and how you did.

Are they worth the risk/chance? Appreciate any/all feedback.

thanks,
Cruiser

 

[jesuschrist]

They're going IPO because Zuckerberg wants to make a huge amount of money and have the infrastructure to battle Google, which will require a huge amount of money pumped into the company.

The alternative is going with private investment. I wonder how seriously they considered that.

I hate Facebook. It's an amateur piece of work in both design and implementation. The very idea was borne of the notion to post gossip about the girls on campus the little jerk Zuckerberg couldn't fuck but wanted to. It's a narcissistic piece of crap that people think is attracting attention to themselves, as if anyone is really interested. Facebook has expanded itself to now allow companies to create a presence online. I don't know how it is any better than the old way, a company having its own website, and why "friending" would be an advantage to a company.

Google has changed the way we do things. Facebook is nothing more than the capitalization of a fad, it does not deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Google.

 

[Smilf]

They're going IPO because Zuckerberg wants to make a huge amount of money and have the infrastructure to battle Google, which will require a huge amount of money pumped into the company.

The alternative is going with private investment. I wonder how seriously they considered that.

I hate Facebook. It's an amateur piece of work in both design and implementation. The very idea was borne of the notion to post gossip about the girls on campus the little jerk Zuckerberg couldn't fuck but wanted to. It's a narcissistic piece of crap that people think is attracting attention to themselves, as if anyone is really interested. Facebook has expanded itself to now allow companies to create a presence online. I don't know how it is any better than the old way, a company having its own website, and why "friending" would be an advantage to a company.

Google has changed the way we do things. Facebook is nothing more than the capitalization of a fad, it does not deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Google.

Why do some people always say that rich people are greedy or are in it just for the money? Zuckerberg, invented facebook as a challenge to himself and that's what he still does. He wanted to see if he could build the worlds most indepth social media network and that is what he has done. He's a nerd and most of us super nerds do things to challenge ourselves. If you do anything on that basis with money in mind as it's initial intention, it never works out and if you talk to a lot of super nerds, they will tell you that. If you've listened to him at all and his interviews, it's never about money, it's about challenging himself and he fought tooth and nail with partners and investors for the longest time over earning money from FB.

You're also preaching about him gossiping about the girls on campus and you pay to see ladies and then post reviews on them???

Don't hate someone because they had the smarts to do something that also happens to make them a lot of money.

As for the original question, I think an IPO with FB would be a safe bet. Google may come around a bit more later in the year after Google Plus is more established as a social network. They sold off a lot of stuff last year and also bought some new companies too, so think that's why they're IPO is fluxing so much.

 

[AngelaAurora]

I am in on it as well, provided things go well.

 

[bcneil]

Everyone hates facebook, I think hating facebook is the in thing.
I am planningon getting the ipo, with a couple of america friends.
I havent looked into everything yet. My buddies broker says we need 100g minimum to get in.

 

[cruiser]

What happened with Google in August 27, 2004 is that Google entered the market off of the IPO at $106.15 There are always people that got shares through the IPO, but didn't want to hold them for long. On September 3, 2004 Google traded at $100.01 That is the lowest Google has ever traded at and was the result of the profit taking. Google is currently $580.83 http://www.google.ca/finance?q=google click all to get full history

I think, as long as the world doesn't go to shit as a result of European monetary issues, that there is no reason a similar profile won't exist for Facebook in 8 years. I'd be looking at Facebook's price a week after the IPO. Just as the founders and core employees of Google did some monetizing of their now saleable shares, the founders and core employees will do some monetizing of their shares.

The thing to remember with any company that you are buying out of a recent IPO is that you need to reduce your risk by taking some of your investment out once the shares have tripled and you need to set a stop loss price.

With Google that would have meant selling shares once GOOG hit $300 or if GOOG hit $95

It's like the game I'm playing with Gold. I know when I'll profit take and I also know when I'll stop loss and eat any losses.

Good information....especially on the stop/loss price. Know when to pack it in, but also know when to hold it until you do good.

 

[cruiser]

Everyone hates facebook, I think hating facebook is the in thing.
I am planningon getting the ipo, with a couple of america friends.
I havent looked into everything yet. My buddies broker says we need 100g minimum to get in.

If they are looking for a minimum of 100K buy-in, what are we looking at for a share price?

$100/share would have you holding 1,000 shares. $200/share makes it only 500 shares.

Curious to see what it hits the market at.

 

[bcneil]

If they are looking for a minimum of 100K buy-in, what are we looking at for a share price?

$100/share would have you holding 1,000 shares. $200/share makes it only 500 shares.

Curious to see what it hits the market at.

I have no idea of share price. Or if the $100,000 is his brokers minimum or some sort of standard?
But apparently this will ensure we get in at the ipo price.

 

[storm rider]

After talk of Facebook looking to do an IPO (Initial Public Offering), I contacted my financial advisor and have been told that Canadians can't get in on the IPO until the stock hits the stock exchange. Other talk I've heard is that the actual IPO won't be happening until May.

In saying that, I am wondering about the risk of taking your chance on an IPO. Have people done good on them? Some stocks that I heard that didn't do well are: Tim Hortons; Duncan Donuts; Google; Groupon.

Anybody out there ever taken a chance on an IPO. Care to share the name of it and how you did.

Are they worth the risk/chance? Appreciate any/all feedback.

thanks,
Cruiser

IPO's on the Dow/Nasdaq exchanges are a very hard opportunity for Canadians to take advantage of...I tried to get into an IPO a few months back of a very promising stock and I could not.....if I could throw some serious money at the Facebook IPO I would do so as I think it would pay off bigtime....as for Facebook itself I think it is the biggest total fucking waste of time....nothing but zombies updating their status and adding useless shite on a continuous basis...total fucking waste of time and also a very good opportunity to be a victim of identity theft.....as for zuckerberg saying he did not want facebook evolving into a business that is the biggest BS story ever told....if he was so concearned about that then why did he screw 3 other people over and pay them off with a 65 million settlement in court to get rid of them?.....seriously though the facebook IPO will only be available to people that have a shitload of money....with regards to Tim Hortons IPO I would like to point out that ALL Canadians that wanted to get it on that could have done so and it was not a failure if it was done right...meaning that you aquired Tim Hortons stock at the IPO price in a large volume of shares...say about 10,000 and sold them during the peak of trade on the day they were publicly traded as the stock was emotionally driven with no regards to performance/profits etc....I knew 1 guy who bought into Tim's and I had to listen to his crapulence about how the stock was going to do a 3-1 stock split within 6 months.....I told him he should have played the stock short and in large volume and he said I knew nothing.....he eventually sold his Tim's stock at a very small profit a long time later with no stock split and without the benefit of getting any dividends whilst he chased the rainbow to the pot of gold......at least I get to rub the "I told you so" salt into his wounds.

SR

 

[Flanders]

The best IPO opportunities come through personal contacts, getting on "president's lists" and investing in people/businesses that you know and understand. Almost always a 10-15% win from the IPO price to initial trading price on TSX in my experience. Provided the market conditions are favorable of course. In a "frothy" market, 30-40% can be had upon initial trading. That is a good indicator that the crash isn't far away....

 

[Smilf]

IPO's on the Dow/Nasdaq exchanges are a very hard opportunity for Canadians to take advantage of...I tried to get into an IPO a few months back of a very promising stock and I could not.....if I could throw some serious money at the Facebook IPO I would do so as I think it would pay off bigtime....as for Facebook itself I think it is the biggest total fucking waste of time....nothing but zombies updating their status and adding useless shite on a continuous basis...total fucking waste of time and also a very good opportunity to be a victim of identity theft.....as for zuckerberg saying he did not want facebook evolving into a business that is the biggest BS story ever told....if he was so concearned about that then why did he screw 3 other people over and pay them off with a 65 million settlement in court to get rid of them?.....seriously though the facebook IPO will only be available to people that have a shitload of money....with regards to Tim Hortons IPO I would like to point out that ALL Canadians that wanted to get it on that could have done so and it was not a failure if it was done right...meaning that you aquired Tim Hortons stock at the IPO price in a large volume of shares...say about 10,000 and sold them during the peak of trade on the day they were publicly traded as the stock was emotionally driven with no regards to performance/profits etc....I knew 1 guy who bought into Tim's and I had to listen to his crapulence about how the stock was going to do a 3-1 stock split within 6 months.....I told him he should have played the stock short and in large volume and he said I knew nothing.....he eventually sold his Tim's stock at a very small profit a long time later with no stock split and without the benefit of getting any dividends whilst he chased the rainbow to the pot of gold......at least I get to rub the "I told you so" salt into his wounds.

SR

IPO's for any company are best got at the beginning, when you can get them on the inside before everyone else does.

Nobody but zombies post on facebook? I guess there 483 million active zombies on there - 30% of which are business people and it happens to be one of the easiest forms of making business partnerships and earning money for pretty much any type of business. Waste of time? Not so much, when I can make 3 times as much money on there than my "other job" in a day.

Who says he screwed 3 people over? They said that, he's never said that. You know that thing called your word against theirs? I'd rather give money to people to shut them up, then drag crap on for years in court and let lawyers suck it all dry.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/02/02/7-startling-numbers-we-now-know-about-facebook/