“The very first trade in LNUX was at $299. Why someone would
agree to pay ten times an offer price is beyond me, but that’s what
new owners of LNUX have done. Investors dismissed the $30 figure
even though it was set by people who spend their lives valuing
these things.”
“Three days after VA Linux went public, it was trading below
$200 a share. At that price, almost every purchaser of LNUX in the
aftermarket was losing money. The individual who had bought at
$320, if he or she still held the shares, was down 40%. Everybody
else was down less, but, with the exception of daytraders who may
have bought during momentary intraday dips and sold during equally
momentary rises, not one purchase was worth any money except as a
possible tax writeoff.”