‘Meme Stocks’ Revival Signal?... Altman’s 3rd Largest Shareholder ‘Reddit’ IPO Price at Top End

The initial public offering (IPO) price of Reddit, a U.S. social networking service (SNS) company scheduled to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has been set at the highest level of the expected range. Some view this as a potential revival of the so-called "meme stock" craze that was triggered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the 20th (local time), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that Reddit's IPO price was set at $34 per share. This is the top end of the previously submitted price range ($31 to $34 per share) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Reddit is expected to debut on the New York Stock Exchange on the 21st under the ticker symbol RDDT.

After listing, Reddit's market capitalization is expected to reach $6.4 billion. Although this is far below the estimated valuation of $10 billion in 2021, it is considered difficult to compare directly since the 2021 figure was during the COVID-19 bubble period characterized by frenzied speculation on risky assets.

Founded in 2005, Reddit is a massive SNS with over 70 million daily visitors as of October last year. It is a site where users share gossip, news, investment information, and more. In South Korea, the Reddit stock discussion forum WallStreetBets, which was the epicenter of the COVID-19 meme stock phenomenon, is well known. The surge in the stock price of video game retailer GameStop, which shook the stock market in 2021, originated mainly from this forum.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, reportedly holds an 8.7% stake in Reddit, making him the third-largest shareholder. Reddit plans to offer 8% of the IPO shares to individual investors, in addition to institutional investors.

The WSJ stated, "Investor enthusiasm for Reddit's IPO suggests that the IPO market, which has been constrained over the past two years, may be reaching a turning point." However, some Reddit users have expressed mixed reactions, saying things like "I will short Reddit's stock" and "I will watch without buying shares for the next few weeks."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.