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Kayak (Nasdaq: KYAK) became the highest profile U.S. IPO since Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) today.
The popular travel website went public at $26 a share, above its expected range of $22 to $25. Despite the higher initial price, the stock has already climbed 27% in its first day of trading.
Kayak’s IPO price values the company at $1 billion right out of the gates – a modest four times last year’s sales of $245 million, according to Bloomberg. Remember that Facebook went public at roughly 100 times trailing earnings.
Kayak’s debut makes it four IPOs this week – matching the busiest stretch since Facebook went public on May 18.
Fender was supposed to make it five IPOs this week. But the guitar company made famous by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Jimi Hendrix and Les Paul decided to withdraw its IPO, which was expected to price this week. The company cited volatile market conditions as its reason for pulling out.
Fender had originally planned to go public back in March.
Despite Fender getting cold feet, the four initial public offerings are a good sign for an IPO market that has been largely silent in the two months since Facebook’s disastrous debut.
The better news is that this week appears to be just the beginning of a potential IPO comeback. Eight more companies are slated to price next week.