Following a decline that started as soon as the company entered the Nasdaq on Tuesday, Instacart shares fell over 11% on their second day of trading on Wednesday, putting them just above their IPO price.
Instacart’s much anticipated IPO saw the sale of shares on Monday for $30 each. The stock, which trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol CART, surged 40% to open at $42, but it later declined during the day to settle at $33.70. The rise for Instacart had further waned by Wednesday afternoon, and the stock ended at $30.10. In the final minutes, the price temporarily dropped below $30.
A dormant IPO market that had been mostly shut down since late 2021 as businesses struggled with rising inflation and loan rates was reopened thanks in large part to Instacart’s offering. However, Instacart’s declining share price indicates that despite difficult economic conditions, investors are still wary of investing in Internet businesses that aspire to disrupt established markets.
The grocery delivery service joins a number of gig economy businesses that have entered the public market, following the launches of Airbnb and DoorDash in 2020 and the ridesharing firms Uber and Lyft in 2019. Of those businesses, only Airbnb has shown to be a wise investment for investors.
Source (CNBC)
