Today in Bubble History: eToys IPO

etoys_283_224Is today like 1999? Consider:

1999: eToys Inc., a startup Internet retailer, goes public on NASDAQ. Initially expected to be priced at $10-$12 per share, the stock is underwritten at $20 and quadruples before the opening bell can even ring.

The first trade is at an astonishing $83 9/16. The shares close the day at $76 9/16, a one-day return of 282.8%.

Just 19 months later, on February 26, 2001, the company announces that it will file bankruptcy.

(It was acquired by Toys “R” Us in February 2009).

via Jason Zweig
 

 
Source: Benjamin Graham (with Jason Zweig), The Intelligent Investor (HarperBusiness, New York, 2003), pp. 443-444; (etoys1; eToys 2)

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