Groupon shares skid again

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Maybe Groupon Inc. needs a groupon for its own stock.

Shares of the daily-deals website sank again Wednesday, skidding below the price of the company’s much-hyped initial public offering earlier this month. As of 11:45 a.m. PST, Groupon shares fell $2.80, or 14%, to $17.27. The IPO price was $20.

Shares of Groupon have turned ice cold just as the holiday shopping season has heated up this week. The stock plummeted 10% Monday and another 15% Tuesday.

There’s been no hard news to explain the sell-off, though there are plenty of theories, including investor concerns about competition in the online-coupon industry and intensifying economic threats in Europe that would dent Groupon’s international business.

Whatever the cause, it’s a lightning-quick change of fortune for such a prominent IPO.

Groupon shares surged 31% in their first day of trading on Nov. 4. That raised enthusiasm for other highly anticipated technology IPOs, including Zynga Inc.

But in the 13 trading days since the IPO, Groupon shares have risen only three times.

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-- Walter Hamilton and Tom Petruno