On May 18, 2012, Facebook became a publicly traded company. Facebook’s stock has had some definite peaks and valleys since then. The value of the company has yet to reach its opening mark of $38 per share, settling in the $26-$28 neighborhood. MarketWatch compiled a timeline of Facebook’s year after the initial public offering.
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Although Facebook’s stock value has recovered from its initial downfall to about $25 per share, one analyst sees another dip coming, largely because of the prevalence of advertising on the site. Richard Greenfield, a media and entertainment analyst for BTIG Partners, told CNBC that he is not confident about Facebook’s future on Wall Street, noting that advertising on the social network looks more like spam.
The main knock against Facebook in financial circles has been its inability to prove that it can be a solid buy for investors, especially in the way of mobile monetization. However, stock analysis firm Trefis thinks that Facebook has done enough in this field, and should be able to share a positive outlook in its fourth-quarter earnings call Wednesday.
A few Facebook executives rang in the new year by selling off some of their stock in the company, making a tidy sum in the process. Facebook board member Donald Graham, Vice President of Engineering Michael Schroepfer, General Counsel Ted Ullyot, and Chief Accounting Officer David Spillane all sold some of their social network stock in the past few days, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. And Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg converted a portion of her shares from class-B to class-A, making them easier to sell.
It has been an interesting fiscal quarter for Facebook, and in just a few weeks, everyone will know how the company did financially over the past three months. Facebook announced to investors Wednesday that it will hold its fourth-quarter earnings call at 2 p.m. PT Jan. 30.
Morgan Stanley, which served as one of the lead underwriters for Facebook’s much-hyped initial public offering, is coming under scrutiny by the state of Massachusetts. The state fined Morgan Stanley $5 million, claiming that the financial firm helped Facebook leak sensitive information to select companies, creating an unfair playing field for investors.
The big names at the top of Facebook’s corporate ladder are starting to cash in their shares. TechCrunch reported Friday that Chief Accounting Officer David Spillane sold 256,000 of his 416,000 shares. Spillane made a profit of roughly $5.376 million. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and General Counsel Theodore Ullyot also sold some of his Facebook shares.
Several top Facebook executives, including Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, are sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars worth of their company’s stock, but they have no plans to sell. As 234 million shares of Facebook stock became unlocked and eligible to sell Monday, Business Insider discovered just how much key Facebook executives are sitting on.
On Monday, rank-and-file Facebook employees will be able to sell their stock, which officially came to fruition Thursday. Collectively, the roughly 225 million shares are worth about $5.2 billion, based on Wednesday’s closing price of $23.23 apiece. But it’s not just Facebook employees who are excited for a potential sell-off — the federal and California governments stand to profit from this, as well.
The stock value of Google plummeted after its preliminary third-quarter report showed that income dipped 20 percent while costs rose. This news sent a ripple effect throughout other Web giants on Wall Street, as the share prices of Facebook and Yahoo fell Thursday, as well.
