Cramer: LinkedIn IPO Is Bad for the Market

LinkedIn IPO a Dot-Bomb?

Mad Money host Jim Cramer discusses whether the LinkedIn craze over its IPO today is a game changer or overblown by markets.

LinkedIn's IPO is bad for the market, Cramer said Thursday.

The "Mad Money" host took issue with how the social media company's pricing. LinkedIn offered a very small amount of shares to generate buzz and deliberately get everything "frothy," he explained. It let just 7.84 million shares go at $45, which is top of range. By offering a "small sliver" of stock, the brokers are able to engineer a pop, he continued. Sure enough, LinkedIn's stock soared by 171 percent at one point in its first day of trading.

Cramer said the "sliver method" is so toxic, it lead to the dot-com bomb of 1999. To him, LinkedIn's IPO evokes memories of the dot-com bubble bursting.

"We are playing with equity fire when it comes to this LinkedIn IPO and the many deals coming down the pike that will be just like it," Cramer complained. "The authorities are looking the other way. The brokers are thrilled. The venture capitalists are jumping for joy."

Meanwhile, Cramer said he's the "helpless firefighter, standing there while gasoline is being sprayed on your nest egg."

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