One of the most anticipated IPOs out of Silicon Valley in years - Uber will begin trading on Friday at $45 dollars a share - giving the ride hailing giant a 82 billion dollar valuation , making it the biggest IPO since Alibaba in 20-14.

But it's a valuation that's a third below what insiders had hoped for a year ago.

So why is pricing so conservative?

Reuters reporter Heather Somerville explains.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) HEATHER SOMERVILLE, REUTERS REPORTER, SAYING: "Uber shares have been conservatively priced for a few reasons.

One is broader market conditions.

There's a lot of mixed messages going on about the trade negotiations between the United States and China which has really roiled the markets and created a lot of unease for investors.

Second is the performance of Lyft Uber smaller U.S. ride hailing rival the company's shares are trading at about fifty five dollars today.

That's slightly up from a record low of fifty two yesterday.

The company priced its shares on its IPO at seventy two dollars.

It's a huge fall.

So Uber doesn't want that to happen to it." Both UBER and LYFT are struggling with huge losses and increasing driver dissatisfaction.

Driver activists have been demanding higher pay and this week called for a strike in many cities around the world but were met with a lukewarm responses.

This Uber driver, who complained about only getting a $100 dollar IPO bonus for over 4000 rides, says he still wants to buy Uber shares when they become public.

He drives 12 hours today to make the same pay he made driving 8 hours a year ago, but he still thinks Uber is a company with a big future ahead.