After months of anticipation and speculation, Facebook filed its paperwork for an initial IPO on February 1, 2012, during the company's eighth birthday. The company started being publicly traded on the Nasdaq on May 18 to much fanfare, yet it has been a major disappointment ever since.
The initial IPO of stock priced at $38, and its first day of trading was a flop. The stock opened on May 18 at $42.05 and closed at $38.23. Ever since, the stock's price has gone as low as $25.52.
Analysts have offered a variety of reasons for the stock woes. For one, Nasdaq tech glitches caused a 30-minute delay, and many traders reported trouble with canceling orders and trading on the platform. Some investors are actually suing Nasdaq in six class action cases. The lawsuits allege that Nasdaq caused a lot of uncertainty and investor losses.
Other explanations for the stock's troubles have included: Investors are wary of social media stocks, Facebook's initial valuation of $100 billion-plus was simply too high, and retail investors are taking a wait-and-see attitude.
For a look at how unstable the stock has been, here's a complete guide to how Facebook's stock since the IPO:
Friday, May 18: On initial day of IPO, the stock closed at $38.23, a major disappointment from the initial IPO price.
Monday, May 21: Declined 11 percent for the day and closed at $34.03.
Friday, May 25: Declined 16 percent from the IPO price and finished at $31.91.
Wednesday, May 30: Fell even further from the initial IPO price (26 percent) and closed at $28.19.
Friday, June 1: Didn't stop plummeting. Finished at $27.72, which was down 27 percent from IPO price.
Wednesday, June 6: Declined to 29 percent below the IPO price, closed at $26.81 for the day.
Friday, June 8: Increased slightly to finish at $27.10, which was still down 29 percent from the IPO price.
Wednesday, June 13: Finished the day down 28 percent from the initial IPO price, at $27.27.
Friday, June 15: Increased slightly again, to finish at $30.01.
Wednesday, June 20: Performed better, only 17 percent down from the IPO price. Finished at $31.60.
Friday, June 22: TBD
