Update: While Facebook stock should be trading by now, almost half an hour after the scheduled time, it has been delayed. For how long exactly no-one knows, but TechCrunch are reporting its due to a last minute pop in demand which could have the initial trading price pop to $42, up from $38 per share. LA Times are reporting that Mark Zuckerberg is set to become the 29th richest man in the world with a value of around US$20 Billion.
Update2: Facebook shares have officially started trading and TechCrunch were spot on. The initial trading has begun at $42 per share, only time will tell how the stock does in the long-term, but remember there’s a lot of hype around right now, but at the end of the day, those in-charge of Facebook built a product that the world loves, that won’t change simply because they are now public.
The largest Social Network in the world is now a public company. Shares have just gone on sale at $38 per share. If you multiply this number by the number of shares on offer and the percentage of the company that was floated in this initial public offering, it values Facebook at a staggering $104 Billion. This positions Facebook at about half the market value of Google at around $200 Billion according to Bloomberg.
Facebook now needs to continue revenue and growth projections to return value to new shareholders. There’ll be some investors that try and flip the stock for a quick return, but if this stock is to become the new generation blue-chip stock, the biggest value will be gained by holding FB shares over the long-term.
GigaOm has a great analysis of how other technology shares have faired in recent times after taking the company public. The charted outcomes is definitely worth a read. There’s also a fun new website setup http://www.facebookipodayclosingprice.com/ which allows you to place a guestimate of the day 1 closing price on the Facebook stock. Current predictions hover between $50 to $80 per share.
Facebook’s stock is trading under the NASDAQ stock symbol FB. You can watch the progress of Facebook’s stock value by visiting Google’s finance page.
Check out the moment Zuckerberg pushed the button, don’t we all wish we had a ‘make me rich’ button to press.
The NASDAQ welcomed Facebook using their valuable Time Square real estate.
