Interested in Facebook stock? You are not alone. Despite some technical difficulty and lower than expected trading on their IPO launch date, Facebook is still one the hottest stocks being traded on the Nasdaq today.
As many could have guessed, Facebook’s IPO brings an interest in public trading that reaches far beyond your typical investor. In fact, small investors, or what are often referred to to as retail investors, are expected to have more demand for the company than any other public offering in history. What does that mean? Simply put, the general public has a real interest in owning a piece of Facebook. Early estimates say the general public could end up owning as much as 20% of the company.
So I guess the question for small investors is, how can I get my hands on some Facebook shares? Facebook’s official documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission tell us the answer to that exact question. They list all the available shares and who has them. Obviously some of these big banks only cater to big investors. For instance, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan don’t have an interest in selling you twenty shares, but E-Trade, who carries over 210,000 shares, would be.
Anyway, take a look at who’s carrying the shares. If you’re not looking, it is still interesting to see who’s profiting off the Facebook IPO. Remember, anyone who’s offering and makes sales, also makes commissions and fees off their work. IPO’s could makes some people very rich–aside from the companies themselves.
These are the Underwriters who offer shares in Facebook:
* Morgan Stanley: 162,174,942
* J.P. Morgan: 84,878,573
* Goldman Sachs: 63,185,042
* Merrill Lynch: 27,380,185
* Barclays Capital: 27,380,185
* Citigroup Global Markets: 9,477,755
* Credit Suisse Securities: 9,477,755
* Deutsche Bank Securities: 9,477,755
* Allen & Co.: 8,424,672
* RBC Capital Markets: 4,212,336
* Wells Fargo Securities: 4,212,336
* Blaylock Robert Van: 673,974
* CastleOak Securities: 673,974
* Lebenthal & Co.: 673,974
* Loop Capital Markets: 673,974
* M.R. Beal & Co.: 673,974
* Muriel Siebert & Co.: 673,974
* C.L. King & Associates: 631,850
* Samuel A. Ramirez & Co.: 631,850
* The Williams Capital Group: 589,727
* BMO Capital Markets: 421,234
* Cabrera Capital Markets: 421,234
* Cowen & Co.: 421,234
* Lazard Capital Markets: 421,234
* Macquarie Capital (USA): 421,234
* Oppenheimer & Co.: 421,234
* Pacific Crest Securities: 421,234
* Piper Jaffray & Co.: 421,234
* Raymond James & Associates: 421,234
* Stifel, Nicolaus & Co.: 421,234
* William Blair & Co.: 421,234
* E*Trade Securities: 210,617
* Itaú BBA USA Securities: 210,617
Total: 421,233,615 shares