Pandora shares soar in first day of trading

June 15, 2011 at 10:39a.m.

NEW YORK (AP) — The shares of popular but unprofitable Internet radio service Pandora soared more than 50 percent in its market debut.

Its shares rose as high as $26 in early trading today, up from its offering price of $16 and valuing Pandora Media Inc. at more than $4 billion.

That is easily more than the current value of AOL Inc. but a fraction of such Internet behemoths as Google or Yahoo Inc.

Pandora’s offering comes amid a fervor for high-profile Internet IPOs that have just begun to trickle in.

Daily deals site Groupon Inc. has also filed to go public, though it has not yet provided details on its expected price range or amount of shares it plans to sell. “FarmVille” maker Zynga Inc. is also expected to make its public debut soon.