After the underwriting firm purchases the shares, they release them to their associated brokerage firms, called the syndicate, who in turn sell the shares at the set IPO price to
institutional investors
or wealthy clients who are able to assume the financial risk.
The number of shares released in the IPO is the total number of shares available in that company at that time. But it does not include the shares that the original owners,
venture capitalists,
and others may hold. Those stocks generally are restricted and can’t be sold for a specific period of time after the IPO.
On the market
Once the IPO shares are distributed, the shares become available on the
secondary market,
which means shares that were purchased through the IPO will be available for sale on stock exchanges. When the shares are trading freely, the price will change depending on market demand and what investors think the shares are worth.
After the IPO, any gains or losses in price affect only the investor buying or selling the shares.
Professor Samuel L. Hayes,
Harvard Business
School
Professor 
