back to article Facebook shares hit all-time low

Facebook shares hit an all-time low in early trading today as the lock-out period ended for inside investors, freeing them to offload 270 million shares. The lock-out period, when inside investors are forbidden from trading their shares to give a recently public company a headstart, finished today, increasing the available …

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  1. The BigYin
    Facepalm

    See that bubble?

    It's bursting it is.

    1. JDX Gold badge

      Re: See that bubble?

      The only thing that's bursting are Reg readers' trousers as they rub themselves thinking about FB going bust

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: See that bubble?

        Why exactly? I use it everyday, so do alot of people. Nobody wants to go back to myspace.

        Seeing the greedy and/or stupid loose vast sums investing in well proven dodgy business places is always amusing tho.

        1. goldcd

          Indeed

          But should FB vanish one day, I'm reasonably sure somebody else would spring up offering exactly the same thing (or even G+, which I think is maybe technically better, but just suffers as everybody else is still using FB).

          Contrast this with Google vanishing from the face of the planet one day, and I'd be utterly stuffed.

  2. ratfox
    Go

    Let the Schadenfreude begin…

    It is, after all, the reinste Freude.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Let the Schadenfreude begin…

      I wish them no ill will but let's face it apart from the prospect of reaching 1 billion punters with shitty adverts what else did FB really have to offer anyone? FB have been testing a new ad model and there's already a big stink being kicked up about it which will knock the share price again.

      FB stock may not be worthless but it's certainly not worth the paper it's printed on!

      1. Colin Brett

        Re: Let the Schadenfreude begin…

        "FB stock may not be worthless but it's certainly not worth the paper it's printed on!"

        Maybe they should have printed it on Andrex?

        Colin

  3. Charlie Clark Silver badge
    Thumb Down

    Fair value

    Firstly, a falling share price has little or no direct effect on a company as along as it is not preparing to raise equity or borrow. It is in no way a disaster even et 50 % of issue price Facebook is to big to be bought and the CEO still holds the majority of shares.

    Secondly, $7 - $8 would be fair value in comparison with other US stocks at a 20:1 price-to-earnings ratio. So, much as I don't value the service, there is no need for anyone to worry. Apart, of course, for those who bought shares at over-inflated prices. More fool them.

    1. Eddy Ito

      Re: Fair value

      I'm starting to think that even $7-$8 would be generous. As of the last filing there were 2.14 billion shares with 1.14 billion floated. Their book/share value is $6.22 for the most recent quarter which would indicate $7.50 or so being a fair price at the P/E you state. However, if the number of shares floated went from 1.14 billion to 1.41 billion with another 1.447 billion due to be floated by the end of the year it makes the total number of shares close to 2.86 billion shares and not 2.14 billion. That would put their current book/share value nearer the $4.65 mark and making a fair value closer to $5.50-$5.75 per share. Granted, this doesn't account for any increase in book value which may or may not occur and as a "tech company" price often runs 3x - 4x book/share until every now and then when the traders sober up and a bubble is declared and popped.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "However, the inside investors are usually big boys and girls, who hold their nerve a bit better than private investors. "

    However, as inside investors they likely know things we don't about the likely future cashflows of the company and whether people inside are a bit worried hence may like to ditch their holdings whilst still above zero.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Yep.

      I mean, could they not just short their own stock? Sell the stock at $40, make close to $100 billion (estimated up there for simplicity), then when the share price hits $10, buy it all back for $25 billion and pocket the $75 billion for yourself!!! Great lesson in how to print money. :D

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Yep.

        If a mistake was made in that example, please say instead of downvoting.

        1. The BigYin

          Re: Yep.

          "If a mistake was made in that example, please say instead of downvoting."

          That's not how it works. If you speak out against Apple, MS or FB the shills/fanbois appear and just downvote. Don't expect much in the way of correction or discourse. The shills hold a point of view based on faith, not on facts.

          1. The Baron
            Happy

            Re: Yep.

            There may be Apple shills, there may be MS shills, there may be all manner of fanbois within and beyond both ends of the visual spectrum, but one thing I've never noticed on the Reg is a FB shill.

            I thought that any given Reg reader's view of FB sat somewhere on a continuum between grudging toleration and downright hatred. I've never seen any FB advocacy, but life is full of surprises, I guess...

      2. Tom Maddox Silver badge
        Headmaster

        Re: Yep.

        I'll bite. From a layman's perspective, there are two problems:

        1) The inside investors have already paid for their stock; that's why they're called investors. You can't short-sell what you've already bought. However, even if you could . . .

        2) Regulators probably tend to take a dim view of shorting (or trading of any sort in the stock) by an inside investor due to it being--wait for it--*insider* trading. The minimum penalty would probably be significant fines plus disgorgement of profit; the maximum probably involves Federal PMITA prison.

  5. Bob 18

    Still a big honkin' company

    Even at today's share price, FB is still worth $50b. That's about what Goldman Sachs valued it at in January 2011. Anyone who got in before then could still be making a ton of money, even at $19/share.

    What will be interesting is to see if these early investors sell or not. If they're selling, it's because they don't think FB has much more potential, and they want to take their profits and run.

    1. Random Handle

      Re: Still a big honkin' company

      >Anyone who got in before then could still be making a ton of money, even at $19/share.

      They've already made their money, now its time for others to cover that windfall.

  6. DAN*tastik

    I do hope Facebook survives though!

    It is important to have a walled garden where people can share their inspirational thoughts, pictures and mood swings. Otherwise we'd all risk being exposed to that content again, like when we used to get it by email...

    In a perfect world they could build a completely parallel network, like they want to do in Iran, so that the individuals that are part of it have no way to interfere with this side of the Internet.

  7. Ammaross Danan
    Coat

    "All-time low"

    It's quite easy to hit an "All-time low" if your stock hasn't been around enough to have taken "the plunge" before....Shame Facebook's stock looks more like a park slide than a rollercoaster...

    1. JDX Gold badge

      Re: "All-time low"

      Exactly - it's really only ever gown down so it's nearly always at an all time low :)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: "All-time low"

        The passage of time is at an all time high too...

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    if youre rich and you dont care about anyone

    sell useless stock for $fuckloads then laugh when society collapses under the weight of all the different scams youre pulling

    there will come a time when it is not just morally ok to kill these people but morally imperative.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    what about saverin (or whatever)

    He must be nearly bankrupt by now after having to pay 35% of the original price as tax.

  10. TheOtherHobbes

    15,431 people like this.

    (Just saying.)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: 15,431 people like this.

      That may be 87% of those who saw it, but isn't an overall majority so we're going to ignore it

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Microsoft

    It'll soon be ripe for Microsoft to buy it then watch the users leave by their millions after they 'rebrand' it every five minutes.

    Facebook

    Hotface

    MSN Face

    Windows Live Book

    Outface.com

    Modern UI Facebook

    1. Johan Bastiaansen
      Joke

      Re: Microsoft

      You forgot myface.

      Then you can invite people to "come on myface".

      1. CmdrX3
        Thumb Up

        Re: Microsoft

        Cheers, I needed a giggle.

        1. jake Silver badge

          Re: Microsoft

          !GooOnMyModernFaceYouMSTwit ...

    2. Euripides Pants
      Thumb Down

      Re: Microsoft

      They'd probably just change the "My Network Places" icon to "My Social Network Places".

  12. CaptainBlue
    Thumb Up

    You like this

    I obviously had to click the Like button...

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Always remember ...

    The value of shares can go down as well as up ... bitch.

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