http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/05/30/an-honest-chat-with-facebook-investors.aspx Facebook (Nasdaq: FB ) shares fell nearly 10% yesterday and are now down 33% from their highs on IPO day two weeks ago. Some are blaming the Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS ) bankers who took the company public for the plunge. Others say this is a classic case of hype and euphoria catching up with reality -- investors, in other words, got what they deserved. Who's right? The answer is complicated and subjective. To get a clearer view of what happened, I spoke with four investors who purchased Facebook stock when it went public. We'll call them Mark, Tyler, Cameron, and Sheryl (not their real names.) "I first learned that Facebook was going public through a CNBC alert," Mark told me. "My first reaction was simply 'wow,' and I started to ponder over what this means." "My second reaction was, 'Wow, some of my friends are going to get rich soon,'" he said. "And third, I Googled on how I can buy Facebook stock." Sheryl's story was more disturbing: "I bought because my broker told me to," she put it simply. Another investor, Tyler, was the most experienced of the bunch. "My reaction to it was, 'Well, it's going to be a good opportunity to invest in a company that's already popular and still has a lot of potential in the long run," he said. That was months before the IPO. What kind of research and due diligence did you do in between? I asked. Tyler said he read the company's prospectus, but just briefly. "I breezed through it quickly," he said. "I was buying this particular stock based more on my personal experience with their product and the belief that it will be around and growing for a long time. Every friend I have who has 'quit Facebook' has eventually reactivated their account, at least half of my logins to other sites and services are now done through Facebook Connect, and all my pictures both public and private are stored in Facebook. I think it's an incredibly sticky product for anyone around my age (28), and with time Facebook will only come up with better ways to monetize that." Mark was more open to the hype. "I did not read Facebook's prospectus. But I was actively following all the Facebook coverage on CNBC throughout these 3.5 months," he told me. What about Facebook's lofty valuation? "This is Facebook we are talking about, not Groupon or Pandora," Mark said when I asked. "This product has changed the way we interact, communicate, and share information. I bought ads on Facebook, Google, and Bing for my projects quite a few times in the past, and Facebook ads always performed the best for me." "Valuation was high for sure," he conceded. "I was definitely a little concerned." Tyler didn't seem to mind. "Yes I think their valuation is high right now, but I definitely see their potential to grow into it." Another investor, Cameron, was brutally honest when I asked about valuation: "I figured it would pop on the first day like many other tech IPOs this year, but unfortunately that was not the case," he said. "My plan was to buy and sell after the first few days or so regardless of the valuation, hoping it would pop 10% to 15%." After that didn't happen, "I'm going to hold my position in it for the long run," he said. "I paid $41 per share." Sheryl didn't seem to have an opinion. She acted on her broker's advice, she said. Perhaps most importantly, I asked how the Facebook saga has changed these investors' attitudes toward investing. To my surprise, most weren't phased. "Not at all," said Cameron. "I don't feel cheated or misled," he added. "However, I will definitely avoid IPOs henceforth." Tyler agreed. "Especially in the current market, with so much instability and wild market swings over the past year, nothing was really going to surprise me with the way the Facebook IPO was going to go." And through it all, Sheryl still trusts her broker.
no its not. this pc. of crap is going to be pounded into the ground. its not even a viable business. you can't put lipstick on a pig and expect it to fly. when the lock up is over , expect a cliff dive finish. its now personal. the hedgies got burnt and they have a long memory. this has nothing to do with earnings et al. Zuckster is everything that is wrong with face plant. this IPO issue is going to bust the wall street gangstas chops and rightfully so. see you all at zero. s
this is what is wrong with retail, all lemmings jumping off the cliff. the brokerage suits are paid to dump this crap or they don't have a desk, phone and a fat commission cheque. in 36 years, i have never met a broker who knows squat, all used car saleman with better ties. unbelievable. s
you cannot expect much from a broker's client. the broker should have been suspicious that he was able to get stock in a hot ipo offering.
there is no such thing as a hot IPO it is a transfer of wealth form the weak hands to the suits. the brass are bailing out. they dont give a rat's ass once they have your $. the drive and ambition is gone. the 19th hole awaits. s
The only person on there who deserves any sympathy is the lady who listened to her broker. She pays her broker to give her good advice. Maybe it was. But she has a claim to be upset. If you pick your own stocks you have no one to blame. If you pay someone to do it for you, you should (and rightfully) blame them for poor performance and bad decisions.
"The stock market......... a legal venue for a banksta and his crew to dump an over hyped IPO at triple the value to a group of retail muppets....â GRPN cliff diver of the day. lock up period expiry. big money is dumping it splat. 30 pesos to 10 in change. face puke lockup expiry is going to be nasty. s
a broker builds his book and sells it out at the end of the day to the newer suit coming down the pipe. 99% are slick salesman who never invest a nickel of their own money in the game. they are paid to dump the IPO product out the door. it is a sucker's game. s
I spoke with four investors who purchased Facebook stock when it went public. We'll call them Mark, Tyler, Cameron, and Sheryl ---------------------- With names like that you could sell them a soft pretzel for $38 and they'd buy it.