Ocado shares have further to fall

Ocado's shares have fallen heavily since the firm's flotation. But that doesn't mean they're worth buying, says Matthew Partridge. They've got a lot further to fall yet.

Facebook is probably the most high profile technology IPO bust, but the saga of Ocado comes a close second. When the online shopping firm went public in June 2010, we advised against buying into it. Even before full trading began, the IPO price had to be slashed.

Yet thanks to a slick PR operation the shares initially did very well. By February 2011, they had surged to 259p, an increase of 40% from the first day of conditional trading.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri