“Question: How can a stock trading at more than three times its
asking price just two months after going public be a dog? Answer:
When it belongs to VA Linux Systems.
The upstart computer maker set a record on Dec. 9, 1999, when
its newly minted stock came out at $30 per share and closed at
$239–a first-day gain of roughly 700%. Since then, however, the
shares have slid downhill faster than Alberto Tomba in the giant
slalom, falling to as low as $107.88 on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the
stock surged $29 to $136.88 as the entire Linux sector rallied.
Ironically, what has brought VA Linux (nasdaq: LNUX) down to
Earth (or as close to Earth as you get in today’s tech market)
appears to be the same thing that turbocharged its stock in the
first place: the explosive popularity of Linux.”