“Yesterday’s VA IPO turned into the biggest Linux hit yet, with
the company’s stock at one point zooming 800 per cent over the
debut price of $30 a share. And that $30 had been a revision of a
revision – VA Linux Systems’ offer price had already been yanked up
a couple of times in anticipation of greater demand than, er,
anticipated….”
“But when Linux IPOs are getting to this kind of level we’re
clearly approaching the point where worries about the bubble
bursting are going to start to emerge, in the same way as they did
with Internet stocks. Sure, Internet IPOs still tend to do well,
but there’s a general consensus that a some point there’s going to
be a reckoning, and the bigger Linux IPOs get, the sooner
scepticism will start to set in.”
“A quick reality check of VA, for example, gives us net
revenues to 29th October of just under $15 million, and an
operating loss of over $10 million. Eric Raymond alone is
“worth” more than the company’s total net assets, according to the
balance sheet.”