Hangin’ Tough: Groupon’s Stock Closes in Single Digits for First Time
Selling a pair of tickets to see New Kids on the Block for $10,000 today didn’t stop Groupon’s stock from closing below $10 a share.
The daily deal company’s shares slid 3.3 percent, or 34 cents, to settle at $9.97 a share today, marking the first time its stock closed in single digits.
At that price, the company’s value hovers around $6.4 billion, which is getting uncomfortably close to Google’s $6 billion buyout offer that the Chicago company turned down in late 2010.
Groupon has been unable to regain investor confidence since revising its fourth-quarter results at the end of March despite putting out a string of press releases. Over the past couple of weeks, it has hired a new SVP, Kal Raman, and appointed two new directors with accounting expertise.
Today, it sold a package that included a pair of tickets to see New Kids on the Block, a ride on a roller coaster with the teen heartthrobs and round-trip airfare, among other activities, for $10,000, or roughly half off.
Now Groupon is also half off. (I’m pretty sure the NKOTB’s lyrics “Hangin’ Tough” can apply.)
At less than $10 a share, Groupon’s stock is 50 percent below its IPO price of $20 a share.
For CEO Andrew Mason, it means watching his shares decrease from $1.3 billion at the stock’s peak on day one to roughly $470 million today.
