stocks

Facebook stock drops on news of decline in user base

Facebook stock dropped 2.8 percent this morning after an investment firm indicated that the social network's number of users have fallen over the last six months, Bloomberg reported.

The shares of Menlo Park, Calif.-based Facebook decreased 2.8 percent to $27.45 at 10:53 a.m. ET, Bloomberg said, while the shares of Zynga, which has games that are mostly played on Facebook, dropped 6.1 percent to $4.54. Perhaps the panic was short-lived, as the stock ended the day at $28.09, a 0.55 percent decline.

This comes on top of the stock'… Read more

Groupon shares continue their downward trend, hit all-time low

Daily-deals provider Groupon has watched its shares plummet as the weak European market scares investors away.

The company's shares hit an all-time low yesterday of $7.72 before eventually climbing back to end the day at $7.77. According to analysts, who spoke with Reuters recently, Groupon derives a large portion of its revenue from Europe, and continued softness in that market is driving many investors away.

Groupon went public last year at $20 per share. Soon after, the company's shares fell. However, they rebounded earlier this year, making some wonder if the worst was behind it. Since … Read more

Nokia shares hit 16-year low as losses continue

Nokia shares have now hit levels that the company hasn't seen in nearly two decades, and not in a good way.

The mobile company's shares closed the day yesterday at $1.84, pushing Nokia's stock to its lowest point in 16 years. The company's market cap stands at $6.89 billion.

Nokia's troubles have been well-documented. The company, which once dominated the mobile space, has watched its popularity erode at the hands of Android and Apple's iPhone. As sales continue to plummet, the company has been forced to rejigger its operation and layoff staff to stay afloat. … Read more

RIM shares plummet as investors worry about the future

The bad news just keeps coming for Research In Motion.

In early trading today, the company's shares have shaved off 17 percent to land at $7.55. The trading is the first chance for investors to offer up their opinion on the company's bleak fiscal first-quarter earnings that made many wonder if the end is near.

RIM's shares ended the day down 19 percent to $7.39.

During its fiscal first quarter, RIM lost a whopping $518 million, a catastrophic decline compared to the $695 million profit it posted during the same period last year. Quarterly sales … Read more

AOL planning stock buyback with patent portfolio sale proceeds?

AOL stockholders expecting a big dividend check after the Internet company's $1 billion patent portfolio sale to Microsoft might be a little disappointed.

After examining its tax strategies and consulting major stockholders, the company has decided a stock buyback is the best way to use the gains from the $1.06 billion sale of some 800 patents and related applications, sources close to the situation tell All Things D.

AOL promised that the proceeds from the sale, which closed on June 15, would be returned to shareholders, although it was unclear whether that would be in the form of … Read more

Lawmakers push SEC for new IPO regulations after Facebook gaffe

A U.S. House of Representatives committee chairman has sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, asking what went wrong with Facebook's recent IPO and suggesting that it's time to overhaul the landmark Securities Act of 1933.

"As we consider means to improve capital formation, we must revisit the Securities Act of 1933," Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) wrote on behalf of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in a letter obtained by The Wall Street Journal. "The investment banks were given almost 80 years to enjoy this flawed law, fraught with … Read more

Mark Cuban dumps his Facebook stock

The Dallas Mavericks' losses this year weren't the only ones that upset Internet mogul Mark Cuban.

The sports franchise and billionaire entrepreneur owner told CNBC that he sold all 150,000 shares of Facebook stock he owned after suffering through the stock's weak initial showing.

"I already sold it, I took my hit, my thesis was wrong. I thought we would get a quick bounce just about the excitement about the stock. I was wrong, and when you are wrong you don't wait, you just get out. So I took a beating and left," he … Read more

Apple and RIM secrets sold by ex-AT&T employee

A former AT&T worker is the latest corporate employee to confess involvement with insider trading, according to Reuters. Alnoor Ebrahim said he sold stock traders information that included AT&T sales numbers for Apple's iPhone and RIM's BlackBerry.

Ebrahim pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud. "I provided insider information concerning AT&T's sales of Apple's iPhone and RIM's Blackberry products, as well as other handset set devices sold through AT&T distribution channels," he told … Read more

Facebook's stock is bouncing back -- for now

Don't look now, but Facebook shares have been on the rise for the last three trading days. Last Wednesday, the social network's stock stood at $27.24. It closed today at $31.41, a 15 percent rise in less than a week.

So far, Facebook has recovered more than $10 billion of the $35 billion in market capitalization it blew off following its disastrous IPO. Facebook's painful low of $25.52 -- just 12 days ago! -- is now starting to fade a bit.

There are many possible reasons for Facebook's recent rise. The company has … Read more