Snap Prices IPO At $17/shr, Above Expected $14-$16 Per Share Range

The shares were more than ten times oversubscribed, Reuters said.

It remains to be seen how Snap’s stock fares after it raises $3.2 billion in its IPO and begins trading on the NYSE under the SNAP ticker later this week. The fact that Snap nonetheless went for an above-range price suggests that it is confident in demand among investors.

Many investors are still anxious about Snapchat’s ability to make a profit however, after a string of losses being reported in the recent years. Revenue increased sixfold from $58.7 million in 2014 to $404.5 million past year.

Lou Kerner, manager of the Social Internet Fund and a partner in the venture investment firm Flight VC, said he is avoiding the offering, concerned that Snapchat’s user engagement may have already peaked. The shares that are available through the IPO are of class A, which will grant no voting rights to the holder of the shares irrespective of the quantity.

In that context, the IPO represents a step up.

In its Securities and Exchange Commission filing in November, Snap declared its finances for the first time. Before its offering, Snap had raised about $2.7 billion in funding from investors such as General Catalyst, IVP, Coatue Management and Benchmark. The stock should go on sale on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, in what could be the largest technology IPO since Alibaba went public back in 2014. That makes it the largest US tech IPO since Alibaba raised $25 billion in 2014, and the largest for a USA -based tech company since Facebook’s 2012 $16 billion offering, according to Dealogic. Twitter is now valued at $11 billion. And then the hard work begins – how will Snap survive against Facebook, a company which seems intent on Snap’s users by emulating its best ideas?

This biggest IPO since the Facebook IPO is right now the centre of attraction. But history will likely remember Evan Spiegel and his precious company as the lost, desperate dreams of frat bros for generations to come.

As it prepares to go public, Snapchat certainly has momentum on its side-but competition is looming large. eMarketer has increased its U.S. usage projections for 2017 by more than 5%, expecting 70.4 million Americans to use the platform.