Groupon stock falls below IPO price

Groupon Inc.'s stock fell below its initial public offering price for the first time Wednesday as investors reassess the challenges facing the still-unprofitable online deals company in a shaky economy.

The shares plunged $3.11, or 15.50 percent, to close at $16.96. That's well below Groupon's IPO price of $20, which was set less than three weeks ago.

The rapid fall from Wall Street's graces occurred almost entirely this week. Groupon has shed one-third of its market value since Friday's close to wipe out nearly $6 billion in shareholder wealth. Chicago-based Groupon declined to comment on the stock price drop. Political and economic uncertainty is making promising but unproven companies look less appealing.

Groupon gets local merchants to offer steep discounts to large clusters of consumers. Founded in 2008, Groupon is on pace to generate more than $1.5 billion in revenue this year. Web giant Google Inc. had annual revenue of $86 million at the same stage of its existence. Unlike Google, though, Groupon has amassed huge losses as it tries to expand and ward off copycat threats.