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Facebook stock hits low before slight rebound

The stock briefly dips in the morning before a small rally drives it back into positive territory.

Roger Cheng Former Executive Editor / Head of News
Roger Cheng (he/him/his) was the executive editor in charge of CNET News, managing everything from daily breaking news to in-depth investigative packages. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade and got his start writing and laying out pages at a local paper in Southern California. He's a devoted Trojan alum and thinks sleep is the perfect -- if unattainable -- hobby for a parent.
Expertise Mobile, 5G, Big Tech, Social Media Credentials
  • SABEW Best in Business 2011 Award for Breaking News Coverage, Eddie Award in 2020 for 5G coverage, runner-up National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award for culture analysis.
Roger Cheng
2 min read
Sarah Tews/CNET

Facebook briefly hit another low today before rebounding.

Facebook's shares are up 0.7 percent to $29.05, up slightly from an earlier low of $28.25. Despite the slight gain, the stock is down nearly a quarter from its offering price of $38.

It's been a tumultuous ride for Facebook's stock and for any shareholders stuck with the stock at its offering price. Its first full week of trading ranked it as the worst performing IPO in a decade, and the stock fell below $30 for the first time yesterday.

The declines have largely stemmed from concerns that Facebook doesn't quite have a grasp around how it will fully make money off its massive base of users, and the realization that its initial public offering valued the company at too rich a price -- a revelation that is having a ripple effect on other technology companies.

On the heels of last week's controversy over whether Facebook disclosed financial information to select individuals ahead of the broader market were rumors that Facebook had hired engineers in preparation of building its own Facebook phones, a notion that turned many investors off. The company was also rumored to have been interested in purchasing browser company Opera.

Facebook's current market capitalization values the company at about $63 billion, down from its market value of $104 billion when it first went public. In other words, it has lost more than two Yahoos worth of value (the online company has a market cap of $18.7 billion) in less than two weeks.

The stock decline has also equates to the declining fortunes of photo app Instagram, which agreed to be purchased in a deal largely consisting of Facebook stock. The value of the deal dropped from $1 billion to $963 million in a little more than a week.