LinkedIn Shares Skyrocket in IPO

LinkedIn had its IPO today, and there was an investor feeding frenzy before the bell had even rung. The shares wound up opening at $83, an 84% premium on their $45 offering price, the Wall Street Journal reports. They're currently trading at around $105—having peaked this morning at $122. It’s the biggest Internet IPO since Google, and has raised fears that investors are buying into a new tech bubble.

LinkedIn is also the first social networking site to go public, and is seen as a good indicator of how a Facebook offering would go over. “In Silicon Valley, everyone wants this to be a success,” says one tech adviser. “If it works, there's going to be a big push from a lot of social media companies to try to get out before Facebook does. Because once Facebook comes out, they're not going to be able to get any analyst attention.” (More LinkedIn stories.)