TM Editors' note: This article discusses a penny stock and/or microcap. Such stocks are easily manipulated; do your own careful due diligence.

Image Source: LendingMemon.com via Flickr

Surely by now you’ve heard all the breathless reporting about the Figma, Inc. (FIG) IPO, since it tripled in price on its first outing. The blinkered and naive among us likely consider this marvelous news and affirmation of a super-duper, unstoppable bull market.

I took the time and trouble to gather up for you some of the leading “pops” from 1999 and 2000:

• theglobe.com – up 606%
• Red Hat – up 271%
• VA Linux – up 697%
• Foundry Networks – up 525%
• WebMethods – up 505%
• TIBCO Software – up 236%
• Ariba – up 291%

Haven’t heard of these guys, except maybe in bankruptcy? Yeah, that’s my point. Explosive IPOs like Figma take place at generational tops. When you know, you know.

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