FB loses fizz after soaring on debut
Source: Agencies |
May 19, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FACEBOOK Inc shares fizzled on their first day of trade on the Nasdaq, erasing early gains of as much as 18 percent to trade close to their initial public offering price.
The stock opened 11 percent higher yesterday and rose to US$45 before rapidly heading south in frenzied trade, touching its IPO price of US$38. The No. 1 online social network raised as much as US$18.4 billion in one of the biggest IPOs in United States history.
After a delay in the opening print that drove up anxiety levels among traders and onlookers outside the Nasdaq, the company's closely watched stock began trading at US$42.05.
"The reaction is a bit cooler than many would have hoped," said Gerard Hoberg, an economist at the University of Maryland.
To rapturous applause from employees, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg - flanked by Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Nasdaq Chief Executive Robert Greifeld - rang the bell to kick off trading at the company's Silicon Valley headquarters in California.
The 28-year-old billionaire founder hugged and high-fived Sandberg and other employees in celebration after he pressed the remote button.
The area outside Facebook's offices at 1 Hacker Way was packed with throngs of photographers, more than 12 television trucks, and a TV news helicopter hovering overhead as the excitement reached fever pitch.
With a market value of US$104 billion, Facebook is now among the most valuable US companies, ahead of sector giants Amazon (US$98 billion) and Cisco (US$89 billion), and more than twice the value of Ford Motor Co (US$38 billion).
The stock opened 11 percent higher yesterday and rose to US$45 before rapidly heading south in frenzied trade, touching its IPO price of US$38. The No. 1 online social network raised as much as US$18.4 billion in one of the biggest IPOs in United States history.
After a delay in the opening print that drove up anxiety levels among traders and onlookers outside the Nasdaq, the company's closely watched stock began trading at US$42.05.
"The reaction is a bit cooler than many would have hoped," said Gerard Hoberg, an economist at the University of Maryland.
To rapturous applause from employees, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg - flanked by Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Nasdaq Chief Executive Robert Greifeld - rang the bell to kick off trading at the company's Silicon Valley headquarters in California.
The 28-year-old billionaire founder hugged and high-fived Sandberg and other employees in celebration after he pressed the remote button.
The area outside Facebook's offices at 1 Hacker Way was packed with throngs of photographers, more than 12 television trucks, and a TV news helicopter hovering overhead as the excitement reached fever pitch.
With a market value of US$104 billion, Facebook is now among the most valuable US companies, ahead of sector giants Amazon (US$98 billion) and Cisco (US$89 billion), and more than twice the value of Ford Motor Co (US$38 billion).
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