After peaking above $27 per share, Snap’s IPO highs have disappeared. Today the stock settled down to its initial public offering price: $17.
When Snap hit the New York Stock Exchange, the newly public company swelled to $24 per share on its first day at a reported valuation of $33.6 billion. The stock fell below $20 per share two weeks later, and has seesawed ever since.
We could play the blame game — and we will. Snapchat’s growth rate is lagging, and Facebook is getting better at ripping off the app’s trademark features. Snap has to compete with Facebook for the same ad dollars, and Facebook is very good at peddling ads.
But Snap has options; it could try growing faster (if that’s even possible), it could get better at selling ads (maybe by acquiring other companies), or it could drum up a new hype cycle with something Facebook can’t easily copy — what comes after Spectacles, anyway? For the short term, something quirky may be all investors are looking for.
