Pinterest was valued at $12.7 billion at its IPO, with the shares priced at $19 per share, exceeding expectations. The company will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange today, and its performance will demonstrate strength for the tech IPO market, especially after Lyft’s stock fell at its IPO on Nasdaq last month. It is expected that Pinterest achieving a higher valuation in the IPO will be a relief to its investors who participated in the company’s previous fundraising rounds.
At $19 per share, the company raised around $1.4 billion at a $12.7 billion valuation. The company will trade under the symbol PINS, and investment banks including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Allen & Company are the lead underwriters on the Pinterest IPO.
The noticeable difference between both companies is their expectations in IPO valuations. Lyft lost $911 million last year, and was seeking a valuation of $24.3 billion in its IPO. Pinterest lost $63 million in 2018. Its initial target range between $15 and $17 per share had set the company’s valuation at $12.3 billion at its last private fundraising in 2017.