Facebook Inc. began trading publicly in mid-May following one of the most anticipated stock offerings in history. The initial public offering of stock priced at $38, at the top of a projected range that Facebook had already boosted just days earlier.
Although many investors had hoped for a big first-day pop, Facebook’s stock opened on May 18 at $42.05 and fluctuated between $45 and $38 throughout the day. It closed barely above its IPO price, at $38.23.
Since the IPO, the stock has been down on six trading days and up on four. Facebook’s stock price has gone as low as $26.83 since the IPO.
The company, along with the investment banks that led the IPO, is the subject of at least two shareholder lawsuits. They allege that analysts at the large underwriting investment banks cut their financial forecasts for Facebook just before the IPO and told only a handful of clients. Morgan Stanley has declined to comment. Facebook calls the lawsuits “without merit.”
Here’s how Facebook’s stock has traded since the IPO:
_ Friday, May 18: Closed at $38.23, up 0.6 percent from IPO price
_ Monday, May 21: Closed at $34.03, down 11 percent for the day, down 10 percent from IPO price
_ Tuesday, May 22: Closed at $31, down 8.9 percent for the day, down 18 percent from IPO price
_ Wednesday, May 23: Closed at $32, up 3.2 percent for the day, down 16 percent from IPO price
_ Thursday, May 24: Closed at $33.03, up 3.2 percent for the day, down 13 percent from IPO price
_ Friday, May 25: Closed at $31.91, down 3.4 percent for the day, down 16 percent from IPO price
_ Tuesday, May 29: Closed at $28.84, down 9.6 percent for the day, down 24 percent from IPO price
_ Wednesday, May 30: Closed at $28.19, down 2.3 percent for the day, down 26 percent from IPO price
_ Thursday, May 31: Closed at $29.60, up 5 percent for the day, down 22 percent from IPO price
_ Friday, June 1: Closed at $27.72, down 6.4 percent for the day, down 27 percent from IPO price
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