LinkedIn spurns NASDAQ, lists with NYSE

Could this be the end of an era?

LinkedIn, one of the highest-profile tech initial public offerings this year, indicated today that it will list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) rather than the NASDAQ stock exchange, according to an updated version of its S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The NYSE has dueled with the NASDAQ stock market to attract high-profile tech IPOs, but it’s traditionally been a losing battle as the NASDAQ stock market regularly plays host to the largest tech companies in the world like Google and Apple. But recent high-profile tech IPOs indicate that is changing. The NYSE nabbed Chinese social networking site Renren last month. Pandora, an online radio station and another high-profile tech IPO this year, also said it would list its shares on the NYSE.

LinkedIn’s announcement also comes at a time when NYSE Euronext, the company that runs the New York Stock Exchange, is in a high-profile fight with NASDAQ OMX, the company that runs the NASDAQ stock market. NYSE Euronext is fighting off a takeover bid by its tech-heavy rival stock market. NASDAQ OMX said it is committed to making a deal worth $11.1 billion for NYSE Euronext.

The business-savvy social network will list its shares under the ticker “LNKD.” The company filed to go public in January this year to raise up to $175 million. The latest filing with the SEC also indicates that LinkedIn now has 100 million members, up from the 90 million it indicated in its last S-1 filing.

The updated filing also included some new information about its financial performance. The company brought in $94 million in the first quarter this year, up 110 percent from $45 million in the first quarter last year. It earned $2.1 million off that revenue in the first quarter this year, up 15 percent from $1.8 million in the first quarter last year.

LinkedIn is a business network that’s designed to help professionals connect with other potential business contacts and get a “warm introduction” through people in their network. The company said it had 990 employees at the end of 2010.