LinkedIn's IPO priced at $45 a share

(AP) -- LinkedIn priced its IPO at $45 per share to set up the first stock market debut among a fraternity of Internet networking services that's captivating investors.

The pricing completed late Wednesday marks the final step before LinkedIn Corp.'s shares are available in the public market for the first time in the company's eight-year history. Shares are expected to begin trading Thursday morning.

Most analysts believe the shares are likely to rise Thursday, even though LinkedIn raised the IPO price by 30 percent from its initial target of $32 to $35 per share.

The IPO puts a $4.3 billion market value on LinkedIn, the highest for a U.S. Internet company taking its first bow on Wall Street since Google Inc. went public nearly seven years ago.

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