Uber stock set to launch at $45 a share in milestone for 'sharing economy'

NEW YORK - Uber is set for its Wall Street debut Friday, with a massive share offering that is a milestone for the ride-hailing industry and the so-called sharing economy but which comes with simmering concerns about its business model. Shares will be priced at $45 for the initial public offering, valuing the startup at more than $82 billion, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. San Francisco-based Uber was set to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the eponymous ticker "UBER" in one of the technology sector's largest IPOs. Despite the eye-popping valuation, Uber dialed back some of its earlier ambitions for a value exceeding $100 billion after the rocky start seen by U.S. ride-share rival Lyft Inc. Analyst Daniel Ives of Wedbush Securities said Uber has the potential to be a game-changing company and "is paving a similar road to what Amazon did to transform retail/ecommerce and Facebook did for social media." Uber has the potential to grow, Ives said, as it morphs its ride-sharing platform into a more diverse set of services, with Uber Eats, Uber Freight and self-driving vehicle initiatives.