LinkedIn's IPO was a hit Thursday, thanks to pent-up demand for shares in tech startups.
The other "big four" buzziest private companies -- Facebook, Twitter, Groupon and Zynga -- are keeping watch as they prepare their own public debuts.
LinkedIn shares opened at $83 each in its first day of trade, a whopping 84% above its initial offering price of $45 a share. Soon they crept up to $90. Then $105. Shares ultimately reached a high above $122 before closing near $94.
That values LinkedIn at about $9 billion -- an eye-popping number that has implications beyond a single company.
"LinkedIn's performance suggests there is going to be massive excitement around the likes of Facebook, which is even bigger," said Max Wolff, senior analyst at GreenCrest Capital, a firm that tracks private companies.
LinkedIn is a strong company in its own right, Wolff noted, with three revenue streams and a 2010 profit of $15 million -- but that's not enough to explain Thursday's wild ride. Instead, it's about displaced demand for access to tech startups, particularly in the social media space.
"If you're dying of thirst, you'll accept iced tea even if you really want lemonade," Wolff said. "It's a perfect storm of fury, frustration, excitement and delay."
In fact, the other big four companies "have far more sex appeal than LinkedIn right now," said Debra Aho Williamson, principal social media analyst at eMarketer.
"The best thing about LinkedIn's model is that they were patient about going public. The others are hot right now, but most of them are much newer," she added.
