Say what you will about Manchester United, but at least there is this: it's no Facebook.
Shares of the English soccer club rose on their second day of trading on Monday, climbing as much as 9 percent above their offer price. At midmorning, the stock was still up about 3.6 percent, at $14.51 a share.
It is a welcome bit of relief for Manchester United, which priced its long-awaited initial public offering last week at $14, below its expected range of $16 to $20 a share. And its stock repeatedly bumped up against its offer price on Friday afternoon, as Facebook's did on its first day of trading on May 18.
In fairness to the social network, Manchester United did not have to contend with technical errors that affected the trading of Facebook's shares.
The team, which raised about $232.4 million from its I.P.O., is hoping to buck the trend of sports franchises like the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Indians that have performed terribly in the stock market s.
