Yelp had targeted its initial public offering in the range of $12 to $14 per share, valuing the company at nearly $900 million on the high end. Shares were priced at $15 Thursday evening. Yelp announced its plans to go public in April 2010, a little more than a year after turning down a $500 million takeover bid from Google.
That's not too shabby for a web property that has yet to turn a profit. The site features user-generated reviews of local businesses, 42% of which are restaurants. Audience and revenue have increasingly steadily year-over-year, up 74% to $83.3 million in 2011, but so have costs. The company recorded a net loss of $16.86 million last year, nearly double what it lost in 2010.
Yelp's successful debut follows a year of tumultuous public offerings from high-profile social media companies. Kevin Pleines, an analyst with stock-market research firm Birinyi Associates, found that new social media stocks were a bad investment as a category in 2011. By year's end, 82.4% were trading below their opening-day prices.
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