LinkedIn Raises Price on IPO By Nearly 30%

Fueled by strong investor demand, LinkedIn bumped up its IPO pricing range by nearly 30% to between $42 and $45 a share on Tuesday, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The social networking giant previously had set its initial pricing range at $32 to $35 a share on May 9, a range at which it garnered very strong investor interest during a week when the broader markets were choppy. Markets ended the day down on Monday.

LinkedIn's ability to so drastically increase its pricing range, even under such market conditions, is no surprise: Analysts had predicted that the company would boost the price for its long-awaited IPO almost as soon as the initial range was released. The company is expected to begin trading on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker LNKD.

If the shares sell at the high end of their new pricing range, LinkedIn and its investors should raise about $352.8 million with the IPO, and give the business-oriented social network a valuation of approximately $4.2 billion.

It's also possible LinkedIn ultimately will be able to price its IPO shares above their pricing range -- a not uncommon result this year. According to IPO pricing figures from Renaissance Capital, 25.4% of IPOs in 2011 have priced above their range, while 29.9% priced below their range, and 44.8% priced within their range.