LinkedIn IPO

SMOKEY LINKS: LinkedIn, the slightly nerdy, unsexy cousin of Facebook, enjoyed the biggest IPO by a tech company since Google’s in 2004. Shares of the offering closed at $94.25 yesterday, up 109% from their IPO's opening price of $45 a share. "This value is insane," investment banker Ken Marlin told the L.A. Times. “Someone found the formula for bubble Kool-Aid. The bubble is back.” Marlin was referring to the infamous dot-com bubble of the late ’90s. Said Michael Yoshikami, chief investment strategist with YCMNET Advisors, "People are looking to buy anything that has the words 'social networking' in it… It was very reminiscent of the good old days in Silicon Valley when a company trades on sentiment, not fundamentals." In any case, LinkedIn’s launch bodes extremely well for Facebook’s expected IPO, which could make this one look like small change. (5/20a)