Snap is latest tech spectacle at almost $24 billion

Michael Lynton, the former longtime CEO of Sony Pictures, was recently named chairman of Snap, Inc. IPO is raised on the facade the New York Stock Exchange yesterday.

Snap’s share price rose by nearly 50% in value at one stage yesterday and closed 44% higher at $24.48.

Snap’s first day as a publicly traded stock – ticker SNAP – has exceeded expectations: Thursday afternoon, shares in the Snapchat creator closed at $24.48, almost 50% higher than its initial Wednesday night share price of $17.

The stock closed at $24.48 and gave the company a market valuation of approximately $34 billion – the largest IPO since Alibaba in 2014.

That was above the expected range of $US14 to $US16.

Snap, the company behind the widely popular Snapchat and the more recent Spectacles, has reportedly been working on a camera drone to expand its scope. Moreover, it offers facial filters suited for jazzing up selfies.

But despite Snapchat’s popularity, user growth has slowed recently. The company says that an average of 158 million people use Snapchat each day.

Does Snapchat need to go beyond young users to succeed? Both she and his son confirmed that they used the app several times a day to message friends.

Snap, Gellert said, is in a weaker position at this point in its development than Facebook, which has had considerable post-IPO success.

Snapchat was launched in September 2011 and the Snap IPO is billed as the third-biggest tech IPO ever in USA stock market history.

At $17, the company and its backers will pocket $3.4 billion in the offering that suggests the entire company is worth at least $23.6 billion.

In 2012, it was Facebook’s IPO that capture the market’s attention. Facebook is now valued at $395 billion. In particular, Facebook’s Instagram may emerge as a substitute for Snapchat. And though Snap has yet to make a profit – the company lost $515 million previous year, many analysts say one of the biggest worries investors have about the deal is the fear of missing out.

It is now 39% down on its offer price – its user growth and other metrics consistently proving disappointing for investors.