Today in Connected Consumer

Another IPO, another debate over the proper valuation of technology stocks. Zynga goes out today at $10, the top-end of its expected range, valuing the company at $8.9 billion. While the IPO price was below some earlier, more exuberant projections, it still valued raised $1 billion for the company, making it the second biggest offering for a technology company since Google raised $1.9 billion in 2004, according to Bloomberg. Not everyone was impressed, however. Arvind Bhatia of the Sterne Agee Group issued a report declaring that Zynga shares would “underperform,” citing slowing growth and margins under pressure. Other analysts praised the company’s “conservative” approach to pricing its offering, suggesting it might help dampen the volatility that has plagued other recent IPO stocks like Groupon and LinkedIn.