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Twitter Sets IPO Of $26 Per Share

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Twitter late Wednesday set a price of $26 for its initial public offering of stock, which means the company's shares can begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.

The price valued Twitter at more than $18 billion based on its outstanding stock, options and restricted stock that will be available after the IPO.

The price was also above Twitter's expected range, indicating strong investor demand for stock in the company, CBS MoneyWatch reported. Twitter on Monday increased the range to between $23 and $25, after initially setting it at $17 to $20, MoneyWatch reported.

The San Francisco-based short messaging service is offering 70 million shares in the IPO, plus an option to buy another 10.5 million. It is set to begin trading Thursday morning under the symbol "TWTR.''

Facebook went public with a $38 IPO with much fanfare a year and a half ago. But on its second day of trading, its stock promptly sunk 11 percent, and continued dropping for nine of the next 13 days.

Shares of Facebook bottomed out at $17.55 in September 2012. Numerous lawsuits were filed due to trading glitches that led to botched orders, and claiming that Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg and other executives sold off massive amounts of stock before prices began to fall.

Facebook stock has since rebounded, climbing as high as $54 per share, according to published reports. Facebook – which went with NASDAQ instead of the NYSE for its listing – was valued at $49.12 per share when the NASDAQ closed on Wednesday.

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(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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