Snapchat's stock is back at its IPO price
Own a piece of Snapchat, they said. You'll be cool, they said.
If you took that advice, you're probably not in a good place.
Snap's stock fell to its IPO price of $17 on Thursday, a significant barometer for the company since it went public. It's been tumbling down since Snap began trading in March, when shares briefly traded above $25.
Investors and analysts just haven't had much faith in Snapchat. Not unlike Twitter, the stagnant user growth is worrying to many. The app saw a 40 percent year over year decline in downloads in the first two months of the second quarter compared to the year prior, according to data from Sensor Tower, cited by analyst Anthony DiClemente.
Snap is trying to build up the narrative that slowing user growth isn't that worrying when current Snapchat users are so attentive, and therefore, valuable. Snap commissioned several studies, one of which found 60 percent of interactions on Snapchat are between close friends.
For Snapchat, a low stock price can be bad for attracting talent, TechCrunch noted. It means prospective employees can't be wooed by hefty compensation packages, and it means Facebook is winning -- again. Facebook's stock is trading at $149 per share, up from its opening price of $38.
Topics Facebook Snapchat Social Media
Kerry Flynn is a business reporter for Mashable covering the tech industry. She previously reported on social media companies, mobile apps and startups for International Business Times. She has also written for The Huffington Post, Forbes and Money magazine. Kerry studied environmental science and economics at Harvard College, where she led The Harvard Crimson's metro news and design teams and played mellophone in the Band. When not listening to startup pitches, she runs half-marathons, plays with puppies and pretends to like craft beer.
