Mobile payment company Square makes market debut
Mobile payment company, Square, which is considered a pioneer in the crowded mobile payments market, has made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange. The company had priced its IPO at $9 a share, below the expected price, and valued the company at just under $3bn however, last year, investors valued the company, co-founded by Jack Dorsey, at $6bn. The marked-down IPO price raised questions about the prospects of other 'unicorns'; start-ups valued over $1bn, and highlights a tough market for tech IPOs. Nevertheless, Square's stock began trading at $11.20 and has made a strong start, surging to $13.68 per share as at 11a.m. EST today, up over 50% from its IPO price.

Mobile payments trailblazer Square went public today, and so far it's been a bit of a rocky ride for the tech company which also owns restaurant delivery app Caviar. Last night Square priced its IPO at just $9 a share, reports TechCrunch, lower than its expected price and valuing the company at just under $3 billion — a significant dropoff for the company that private investors valued at $6 billion last year.

The neighborhood is going public with Square Posted by NYSE on Thursday, November 19, 2015

The initial lower-than-expected valuation of Square's stock could have wider implications, too: "The IPO is being keenly watched as a harbinger for the fate of unicorns, start-ups valued at more than $1 billion," USA Today wrote shortly before the market opened this morning. "The disappointing pricing illustrates a tough market for the debut of tech companies, underscoring the chasm between the optimism of private company valuations and a skeptical public market."

The stock began trading at $11.20 this morning after Square CEO Jack Dorsey's mother rang the bell, however, and soon began to climb: As of 11 a.m. EST, Square stock was trading at $13.68 per share — up just over 50 percent from its IPO price of $9.

While Square is considered a pioneer in the mobile payments space, said market is an awfully crowded one — and Starbucks dropped Square's payment processing services in October in favor of banking giant JP Morgan Chase, though it's still utilized by thousands of independent restaurants and coffee shops. But it seems the company is looking toward diversification, purchasing restaurant delivery app Caviar last summer for an estimated $100 million.

While traders may be skeptical of tech stocks, January's NYSE debut of insanely popular burger chain Shake Shack seems to indicate they're fully embracing fast-casual restaurants — or at least, ones created by Danny Meyer: SHAK began trading at an impressive $21 per share and more than doubled in price on its first day on the NYSE. Shake Shack's stock peaked at $96.74 in June and is currently trading around $42.