Facebook’s first 8 days: One of the worst tech debuts we’ve seen

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Just how bad has Facebook’s stock performance been since its IPO? Well, consider the visualization below from Tableau Software’s Daniel Hom who compared the social networking giant’s first eight days to other recent technology IPOs. As you can see, Facebook’s debut has been pretty rough, with the stock losing more than 25 percent of its… Read More…

Another bad day: Facebook shares tumble nearly 10%

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Investors are continuing to hammer Facebook just 11 days after its initial public offering, sending the stock of the social networking powerhouse down 9.6 percent in trading Tuesday. The stock closed at $28.84, the first time it has finished below the $30 mark. Facebook went public at $38 per share earlier this month, with many… Read More…

Why I’d bet my retirement on Facebook stock today

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Disclaimer: I’m not actually investing my entire retirement savings in Facebook, nor would I suggest anyone, anywhere ever invest a large part of their savings in one stock. That said, if I weren’t trained in the art of diversification, I probably would. Here’s why: Google isn’t afraid of Facebook ads on Facebook, they’re afraid of… Read More…

Hedge fund manager who wanted Steve Ballmer to resign calls Amazon’s future ‘a riddle’

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Hedge fund manager David Einhorn just can’t stop slamming Seattle area companies. A few days after his Greenlight Capital fund cut its stake in Microsoft, Einhorn is back in the news talking about Amazon. And Einhorn, who gained attention last year for calling for Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to step down, can’t quite figure out… Read More…

Amazon’s stock soars, tops $100 billion in market value

A sign outside Amazon's HQ in Seattle shows the company's amazing appetite for new hires. Photo: Matt Shobe

Amazon.com is once again in the $100 billion club after posting strong quarterly earnings this week. The company’s stock is up more than 14 percent in early morning trading, giving the company a market capitalization of $100 billion. On Thursday, Amazon’s first quarter profits beat analysts’ expectations as revenues jumped 34 percent to $13.18 billion. So,… Read More…

MicroVision losses continue as cash supply dwindles

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MicroVision just can’t seem to cut its losses. The maker of visual display technologies and Pico projectors announced today that it lost $9.8 million during the first quarter, up from $9 million for the same period last year. Its revenues grew slightly to $1.7 million for the quarter. Even more concerning, MicroVision’s cash and cash equivalents… Read More…

Zillow’s visitor count tops 32 million users in March

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Zillow continues to attract users to its Web site and mobile apps, but not quite at the same rapid pace as earlier this year. The Seattle online real estate company reported 32.3 million unique visitors during the month of March, up 67 percent from 19.4 million during the same period last year. That’s a slower… Read More…

Here’s how your startup can ring the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange

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Typically, companies have to wait years for the honor of ringing the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange. But later this year a startup company — which may be nowhere near the IPO ledge — could receive that honor. The New York Stock Exchange has partnered with StartUp America Partnership and the Entrepreneurs’… Read More…

Memo of the day: Who keeps calling 911 from RealNetworks?

RealNetworks HQ. Wikipedia photo

We’ve heard about companies being on life support, but this is a new one on us. With flatlining revenues and a moribund stock price, RealNetworks certainly needs resuscitation. Is it time to call in the paramedics? Here’s a memo sent to employees of the Seattle company today by its facilities manager, asking staffers to revisit… Read More…

Microvision CEO Tokman pledges to ‘walk the talk’ in 2012 despite ‘pain’ over sinking stock price

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Microvision was one of the worst performing tech stocks in Washington state last year, losing more than 80 percent of its value as the maker of Pico projection systems, laser technologies and in-vehicle displays saw losses continue to mount. And while the stock surged last week, it is falling more than 13 percent today after the… Read More…

Shares of Zillow tumble after co-founders unload stock

Spencer Rascoff and team Zillow ringing the opening bell on Nasdaq in July 2011.

Zillow had been experiencing a pretty nice run-up in its stock over the past few months, but the stock tumbled Wednesday after co-founders Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink sold off large chunks of their personal shares. Zillow dropped more than six percent in active trading after Barton sold 375,000 shares at $31.25 — bringing in… Read More…

Money-hungry Clearwire tells investors it needs even more cash

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It was just two months ago that Clearwire inked a deal to receive up to to $1.6 billion in financing from its partner Sprint. That’s a lot of coin, but it is not quite enough to satiate the demands of the Kirkland wireless broadband provider. In a SEC filing Thursday, Clearwire said that it will… Read More…

F5 shares jump after revenues surge 19.9% to $322 million

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F5 Networks, whose software and hardware products speed the delivery of applications over the Internet, jumped more than five percent in after hours trading following the release of the Seattle company’s first quarter earnings report. F5 posted revenue of $322.4 million, up 2.5 percent over the previous quarter and a 19.9 percent increase over revenue… Read More…

Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff is in NYC, ringing the Nasdaq bell again

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He’s back… Maybe Spencer Rascoff did so well the first time that Nasdaq just had to have him back. The Zillow CEO is on tap to ring the closing bell on Nasdaq Thursday afternoon, the second time that he’s been asked to go on financial stage on Times Square in the past seven months. The first… Read More…

Struggling Motricity gets more bad news, loses key Indonesian deal

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Motricity already had the dubious honor of being the worst performing technology stock in Washington state in 2011. And it looks like things aren’t starting out much better in 2012 for the mobile software company. In a SEC filing today, Motricity indicated that it had terminated a business relationship with PT XL Axiata, a large… Read More…

Shares of Cray tank after supply issues push maker of supercomputers to a loss

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The up and down story of Cray continues with the company saying today that revenues will fall below original expectations. It also plans to post an operating loss for 2011. The Seattle-based maker of supercomputers said that supply issues related to “a key component” was unavailable for the XK6 system that it planned to deliver… Read More…

Nasdaq closes with a loss for 2011: A look back at the top and bottom performers

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It was a tough year for most of the publicly-traded tech companies in Washington state, with just a handful posting positive overall stock performance. Even tech titans like Amazon.com, Microsoft and F5 Networks shed value in 2011, marking an overall negative year on the Nasdaq. In fact, the tech-heavy Nasdaq  dropped 1.8 percent during 2011,… Read More…

Shares of Zillow tumble after ‘lock-up’ period expires for employees, early investors

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Shares of Zillow, the Seattle online real estate company, lost more than thirteen percent of their value today after employees and other early investors were able to sell shares for the first time in the public markets. The stock was down by nearly 20 percent at one point in trading this morning after the so-called… Read More…

Shares fall at Bsquare after ‘disappointing’ quarter

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Bsquare, which helps mobile device makers test their equipment, today reported that revenue for the third quarter fell five percent to $24 million. The company also swung to a net loss of $166,000. CEO Brian Cowley said he was disappointed with the results, noting that the company’s recent investments have not quite paid off. The… Read More…

Following strong IPO, Zillow insiders get to cash out early

Spencer Rascoff opens trading on the Nasdaq in July

The holidays may come early for employees of Zillow. The Seattle company, which went public at $20 per share on July 19th, saw its shares close today at $32.52. And while that share price is not significant by itself, the strong performance over the past three months means that employees and early investors in the… Read More…