April 4, 2019
By Peter Bower
The LYFT initial public offering was always going to be a test of public investor enthusiasm for new companies with unproven business models that were unprofitable and likely to remain so for years.
Initial enthusiasm was strong but has now waned. Perhaps opening buyers thought that enthusiasm would drive prices higher and higher providing an opportunity for trading profits; they are wrong. After the first day of trading, the stock price broke below the offering level and collapsed.
The Lonely Bull doesn’t buy into hope; he likes solid fundamentals. However, this saga has implications for the rest of the market. There are many other companies like LYFT which have similar characteristics getting ready to go public this year. They may now delay or have to be priced at bargain prices to attract speculators. Since a torrent of new public offerings take money from somewhere, the result may be more liquidity for the rest of the market. We will see but this is certainly not bad for fundamental investors. Stay steady, my friends.
The Lonely Bull
