They floated like butterflies. Now they're stinging like bees.
有些公司，首次公开募股（IPO）时表现如蝶翅般绚丽，但股价大跌却给投资者带来了被蜜蜂蜇过一般的痛楚。
Limiting the share float as part of their initial public offerings helped Groupon, LinkedIn and Pandora Media achieve bubbly valuations early on. But they have since seen their shares fall more than 30%-40% from their first day's close.
在IPO时限制流通股的数量帮助Groupon、LinkedIn和Pandora Media在初期获得了过高的估值。但自从上市首个交易日收盘以后，上述公司都有过股价跌幅高达30%至40%的经历。
Groupon's IPO looks a particular disaster. Barely three weeks after selling just 6% of its shares outstanding to the public, Groupon's share price is in free-fall. At $17.05, where it traded Wednesday afternoon, shares are already well below the initial public offer price of $20. Doubts about Groupon's business model had been well-publicized. Still, among technology IPOs dating back to 1995, Groupon offered the fourth smallest number of shares as a percentage of those outstanding, according to Dealogic. That was likely a key factor behind its strong debut.
Groupon的IPO看来尤其像是一场灾难。该公司向公众发售的流通股仅占已发行股票总量的6%，但仅仅三周过后，Groupon的股价就开始暴跌。本周三下午，该公司的股价曾一度跌至17.05美元，大大低于20美元的IPO价格。市场对Groupon商业模式的质疑如今已经尽人皆知。尽管如此，Dealogic的数据显示，自1995年以来，按流通股占已发行股份总量的比重计算，在所有科技股IPO中，Groupon的发行规模排倒数第四。这恐怕是其IPO如此强劲的一个主要原因。
Online radio firm Pandora Media has fared little better. It sold just 9% of its outstanding shares on its IPO, and is now down 35% from its initial public offer price. The company has incurred an operating loss through the first nine months of the year, and investors are rightly worried about competition from online music rivals like Spotify.
在线广播网站Pandora Media的表现也没好到哪里去。该公司在IPO时售出的流通股仅占9%，而当前的股价和IPO价格相比已经跌去了35%。今年头九个月，该公司出现了营业损失，而投资者对这家公司正在面临来自在线音乐提供商Spotify的竞争压力的担心也不无道理。
LinkedIn also sold just 9% of its shares. Though shares are down 30% from their first day's close, unlike Groupon and Pandora they remain well above their IPO price. Still, shares are coming under pressure now that insiders can sell. The six-month post-IPO lockup expired on Monday.
LinkedIn在IPO时售出的流通股也不过9%而已。虽然股价和首个交易日收盘价相比已经跌去了30%，但和Groupon以及Pandora不同的是，LinkedIn目前的股价仍远高于发行价。尽管如此，由于限售的内部股东已经可以出售所持股份，LinkedIn的股价也在承压。IPO过后六个月的新股禁售期已于本周一到期。
Investors must be careful with the next crop of tech IPOs, particularly online game company Zynga. It has yet to specify how many shares it plans to sell to the public, and may find it tough to go public at all in the current volatile environment. But considering its own growth is slowing, investors should beware similar floatation devices.
投资者必须警惕下一批准备IPO的科技公司，尤其是网络游戏公司Zynga。Zynga尚未明确计划向公众出售的流通股数量。但由于当前市场复杂多变，Zynga也可能认为根本不宜上市。鉴于该公司的增速正在放缓，投资者应该对类似限制流通股规模做法提高警惕。
ROLFE WINKLER
- achieve [ə´tʃi:v]
vt.完成；达到；获得 (初中英语单词) - disaster [di´zɑ:stə] n.灾难，不幸 (初中英语单词)
- barely [´beəli] ad.公开地；仅仅 (初中英语单词)
- wednesday [´wenzdi] n.星期三 (初中英语单词)
- percentage [pə´sentidʒ] n.百分数；比例；部分 (初中英语单词)
- factor [´fæktə] n.因素；原动力；要素 (初中英语单词)
- competition [,kɔmpi´tiʃən] n.比赛；竞争 (初中英语单词)
- unlike [,ʌn´laik] a.不同的 prep.不象... (初中英语单词)
- pressure [´preʃə] n.压榨 vt.对...施压力 (初中英语单词)
- initial [i´niʃəl] a.最初的 n.首字母 (高中英语单词)
- outstanding [aut´stændiŋ] a.突出的；显著的 (高中英语单词)
- environment [in´vaiərənmənt] n.郊区；周围；条件 (高中英语单词)
- beware [bi´weə] v.(用于祈使句)谨防 (高中英语单词)
- rightly [´raitli] ad.正义地；正确地 (英语四级单词)
- considering [kən´sidəriŋ] prep.就...而论 (英语四级单词)
- pandora [pæn´dɔ:rə] n.潘朵拉 (英语六级单词)
- specify [´spesifai] vt.指定；详述；说明 (英语六级单词)
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