Facebook Shares Plunge Below IPO Price
Facebook shares plunged 11 percent to $34.03 in their first full day of trading Monday after the social network's blockbuster IPO last week.
Facebook stock closed at $38.23 on Friday, only slightly above its IPO price of $38 a share set on Thursday night.
"Facebook is getting slammed as investors who hoped for a momentous run instead take the disappointing first day performance as a cue to flee the stock. The price action is also more telling of what likely would have taken place Friday afternoon if Morgan Stanley hadn't been propping up its shares above the offering price," said Jim Krapfel, IPO analyst with investment firm Morningstar. "There was some thought that Morgan Stanley would continue to prop up shares today but clearly the demand was too overwhelming to keep shares from falling. The weak action clearly shows that some of the speculative froth in technology IPOs has abated, welcome news in our view."
The IPO had some technical glitches on NASDAQ Friday morning, delaying its trading and confusing some investors who did not receive confirmation of their trades until hours later.
NASDAQ's CEO Robert Greifeld said the exchange is "humbly embarrassed" by the situation, saying Facebook's IPO "was not our finest hour." The Financial Times reported that investors may seek millions of dollars from the exchange to cover losses tied to the glitches.