IPO Lockup Expirations

A lock-up on an IPO prevents major shareholders and company insiders from selling shares in the company for a specified number of days following an IPO to prevent the market from being flooded with too much supply of a company's stock. Following the expiration of the lock-up period, restrictions preventing a company's employees and other major shareholders from selling their stock are lifted. Lock-up expirations often coincide with a 1-3% drop in the company's stock as a result of the increased number of available shares of the company.