I’m sure the experts are happy to see Facebook shares dip to the $30 range today. In fact, shares hit an all time low of $29.57 earlier this afternoon, signifying that demand isn’t anywhere near what Facebook and its underwriters were hoping for at the time of the IPO’s launch.
If you recall, Facebook had a very modest showing on their IPO launch day, the week before Friday, and shares only jumped as high as $45, but then quickly sank back down to their $38 target price. The following Monday, shares opened at a mere $34 and continued to diminish until they stabilized at $32 and stayed there for the remainder of the week.
As you might also recall, Facebook was supposed to have the biggest small investor demand of any IPO in recent history, but as we saw last week, misdealing by big investors and Facebook’s underwriters undermined that demand. In fact, several Facebook investors have actually filed lawsuits against those involved in the IPO for failing to release a critical financial document just days before the IPO.
Getting back to the falling stock prices, it is important to look back to early May when many experts came out to warn the public that Facebook is grossly overvalued, and therefore not a good investment for those who can’t afford a gamble. While the extremely high $105 billion valuation scared many experts and small investors away from the shares, others, who believe they understand the trends a little better, are still positioning Facebook stock as a respectable investment.
I think we can expect Facebook shares to decline in value even more as this week drags on. While the Securities and Exchange Commission and Wall Street regulators continue to investigate issues surrounding the IPO, investors seem to grow more and more detracted by the idea of investing in the social networking giant. We will keep you updated on all things Facebook as the lawsuits and inquiries continue to unfold.