King Faces "Worst First Day" in US Trading History - Stock Drops 15%

[Steven Bogos]

King Faces "Worst First Day" in US Trading History - Stock Drops 15%

The Candy Crush Saga maker has set a record for the worst first day performance of any US IPO.

Earlier, we heard that Candy Crush Saga maker King.com would start trading as an IPO on the New York stock exchange [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/133245-Candy-Crush-Maker-Sets-Share-Price-Heads-For-NYSE-IPO]. Now, after just a single day of trading, King has set a new record... though it may not quite be the one they were hoping for. King's stock price dropped a whopping 15.56%, making it the worst first day performance of any IPO in US history.

King's stock price launched at $22.50 per share, but opened at just $20.50 and slowly dribbled down to a close of $19 by the end of the day.

The Renaissance Capital Twitter account [https://twitter.com/IPOtweet/status/448945374980341760/photo/1] has Tweeted a table with the top fifteen "worst first days", showing King right at the top with it's record-breaking loss. The second lowest was a company called "Genuity", who, in 2000, lost 14.5%. Interestingly, Zynga is in the number fifteen spot, with a first day loss of 5% stock price.

King has built up quite a name for itself as a copyright troll and bully, at first attempting to bully completely unrelated games [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/131475-Candy-Crush-Saga-Studio-Trademarks-the-Word-Candy] into submission. This news should bring a smug look of satisfaction to the faces of those wronged by King, which seems to increase in number daily.

I can't help but smile just a little as I type out this story.

Source: Twitter [https://twitter.com/IPOtweet/status/448945374980341760/photo/1]

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[Roxas1359]

That is all...okay no there's more. Anyway, I find this to be karmatic justice in all honesty. After everything that King pulled it looks like it's catching up to them. Anyway, I just find this to be pretty funny, especially since my mother was telling me on how they would do fine on their first day since Candy Crush is so popular...>.>

 

[Neta]

All I have to do now is find a 3-hour YouTube video montage/compilation of Nelson Muntz saying "Haw-Haw" over and over and over again.

 

[Genocidicles]

All I have to do now is find a 3-hour YouTube video montage/compilation of Nelson Muntz saying "Haw-Haw" over and over and over again.

Even better, I found a ten hour version:


Sweet, sweet justice. Hopefully this is just the beginning.

 

[dragongit]

seriously after the whole copyright on Candy and the bloody word Saga, anything to make this company stumble and fall flat on it's face is welcoming. Though they probably still have a ton of cash from their game to last a while. If they are allowed to succeed then there will be more like them in the future, just like there are many companies like EA.

 

[Frezzato]

Apparently Facebook took a hit today [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-26/u-s-stock-index-futures-gain-before-durable-goods-report.html] as well.

 

[Wackymon]

...
Anyway, on topic, this is a joy, because all I can hope is that they understand their folly, and that other developers learn from their mistakes and NOT be copyright trolls. Trust me. The internet is a evil entity, and it's coming for you.

 

[rofltehcat]

...
Anyway, on topic, this is a joy, because all I can hope is that they understand their folly, and that other developers learn from their mistakes and NOT be copyright trolls. Trust me. The internet is a evil entity, and it's coming for you.

Most investors don't care much for ethics and integrity. However, it seems like King massively overestimated its own value and investors don't want their shares. Maybe they don't see a future in King's business model and expect it to crash and burn soon.

 

[RedBackDragon]

bwahahahahahahaha oh my god yes i have been watching this "saga" evolve and my prayers are being answered

 

[Sanunes]

Most investors don't care much for ethics and integrity. However, it seems like King massively overestimated its own value and investors don't want their shares. Maybe they don't see a future in King's business model and expect it to crash and burn soon.

I think that has a lot to do with it, for they probably think King will do the exact same thing as Zynga and don't want that risk.

 

[gigastar]

Sadly, whether or not they set the record, this first day stock drop isnt going to hurt them all that much.

Remember how far THQ had to fall before it finally sunk? King is nowhere near that bad.

 

[Wackymon]

...
Anyway, on topic, this is a joy, because all I can hope is that they understand their folly, and that other developers learn from their mistakes and NOT be copyright trolls. Trust me. The internet is a evil entity, and it's coming for you.

Most investors don't care much for ethics and integrity. However, it seems like King massively overestimated its own value and investors don't want their shares. Maybe they don't see a future in King's business model and expect it to crash and burn soon.

Valid point, but my previous point still stands; It's quite plausible that we'll be free from their tyranny. And maybe we'll be lucky and that evil cash cow they have will burn... Alright, apologies for my seeming hatred of them, but I honestly think they've made to many mistakes, and while having their money is a great thing, I don't think they are as capable of using it as they think, and they seem to be solely into this for the monetary value, so I hope that we'll have a great day in one form or another.

 

[Roxas1359]

Sadly, whether or not they set the record, this first day stock drop isnt going to hurt them all that much.

Remember how far THQ had to fall before it finally sunk? King is nowhere near that bad.

While that is the case for THQ, there are some things you need to remember. First off, THQ had existed for over 2 decades before going defunct, while King is still fairly new. Two, the amount of games and franchises THQ had when compared to that of King. Three, THQ for a time had a long and stable model, that they promptly threw out around 2009, while King is following the exact same patterns as Zynga did. Sure King has a little while to go, but they are making mistakes that got THQ to go under long before THQ started doing that crap themselves.

 

[RealRed05]

Karma is a *****. So is the stock market.

 

[RealRT]

Karma is a *****.

Aww, dude, you've beaten me to it. Karma indeed is a *****.

 

[Malbourne]

This is a real tone-setter for potential investors. I wonder if King's second impression will be better than its first...

 

[Atmos Duality]

The enemy is bleeding, but not broken nor vanquished.
We'll see if they continue to fall like Zynga; hopefully investors will remember the last time such a pointlessly ruthless company went up on the market; and how they basically swindled investors.

 

[StormTheGate]

Suck a fat one King, hopefully their investors bail next.

 

[Scribblesense]

Mobile bubble close to bursting? I, for one, hope so. Too exploitative and most F2P monetization takes precedence over quality game design, or any game design at all.