Does LinkedIn know what it’s doing?  As the first major social media company to go public, they don’t seem to know what to value their stock at.  Earlier this week, they priced their IPO around $35 per share.  Yesterday, they felt it was valued at $45 per share.  The bad news is that it looks like they have no idea what their stock or company value is worth.  The good news is that they grossly seem to have underestimated their value.

LinkedIn’s Stock Market Debut | The Results

This morning, in LinkedIn’s stock market debut, their stock prices soared to more than double their offering price.  LinkedIn’s stock market debut began on the New York Stock Exchange  around 10:00 a.m. ET under the symbol LNKD and quickly soared above $90 per share. By mid-day, the price per share had settled around the $80-85 range, putting a value on the company around $8 billion.

LinkedIn’s stock market debut also made founder Reid Hoffman a billionaire — his stake had been valued at $855 million at the original offering price.

LinkedIn’s stock market debut will be viewed by many as a barometer of the public market’s interest for Internet and social media companies going public.  Given the early returns and success of LinkedIn’s stock market debut, it looks as though many other social media giants will move forward with their plans of going public.

Did you put money in the market with LinkedIn today and are you happy with the results of LinkedIn’s stock market debut?