Facebook Plunges Below IPO Price At Open
By Ria Novosti
Shares in the world’s largest social network Facebook plunged 13 percent below offer price at the company’s initial public offering last week on the U.S. Nasdaq hi-tech stock exchange on Monday.
Facebook floated 421.23 million shares at a price of $38 per share late on Thursday. The company raised $16 billion and its valuation was estimated at $104 billion.
Facebook shares began trading on Friday morning at around $42, a jump of about 11 percent from the final price set by the company on Thursday night.
But the stock quickly reversed course, dropping and rebounding through most of the afternoon.
Just 10 minutes before the Nasdaq market closed at 4 p.m. ET (12:00 GMT), the stock dipped below $38 per share, but then rose to its closing price of $38.23.
How do you value a company? You look at the key figures – sales, ebitda, earnings and then you determine a value either as a seller or buyer. Investment banks have been termed glorified estate agents in the past, for good reason; facebook’s valuation was absurdly overpriced at $100bn market cap – looking at the key figures it is far from obvious that it is worth more than $50bn – any price higher than that is a stretch with little obvious upside for buyers and no dividend protection. A completely speculative bet in other words.