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Facebook IPO Deal Leaves Wall Street Seeing Red

By Diane Alter, Contributing Writer, Money Morning - March 25, 2013

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Facebook IPO Deal Leaves Wall Street Seeing Red

By Diane Alter, Contributing Writer, Money Morning - March 25, 2013

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday approved Nasdaq's plan to pay $62 million in compensation to brokers for mishandling the Facebook IPO. The Nasdaq missteps during Facebook's (Nasdaq: FB) debut cost Wall Street a collective $500 million and firms have fought to recoup those losses.

The amount was cleared by the SEC after Nasdaq offered to pay more than is allowed under its existing bylaws. As a self-regulatory organization, the Nasdaq enjoys certain legal protections which could have resulted in a significantly smaller settlement.

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Facebook Stock Hits New Low, So What Now for Mark Zuckerberg?

By Diane Alter, Contributing Writer, Money Morning - August 17, 2012

Since Facebook's (Nasdaq: FB) hugely hyped and highly anticipated initial public offering on May 18 at $38, shares have been sliced in half, hitting a low of $19.01 in trading today (Friday).

Now, chatter is swirling that CEO Mark Zuckerberg should step down and let a more experienced executive take the helm.

"There is a growing sense that Mark Zuckerberg, talented though he may be, is in over his hoodies as CEO of a multibillion-dollar public company," Sam Hamadeh, head of research firm PrivCo, told the Los Angeles Times. "While in many cases a company founder can, and does, grow into the job, things are happening so quickly that there is precious little time here for Zuckerberg to do that."

Fueling the sentiment is Facebook's steady descent since its calamitous IPO. On Thursday, as the first lockup period ended, which allowed early investors and venture capitalists to unburden their portfolio of battered shares, the stock hit a fresh low.

Facebook's shares closed Thursday at $19.87, a far cry from its debut price and peak of $45 a share.

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Facebook IPO Fiasco to Cost Nasdaq $40 Million

By Diane Alter, Contributing Writer, Money Morning - June 7, 2012

The Facebook IPO mess has become a costly ordeal.

After market close Wednesday the Nasdaq OMX Group announced it will pay $40 million in compensation damages to brokerages that lost money because of the Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) IPO fiasco.

Facebook's epic debut on May 18 was marred by technical glitches at its home exchange, the Nasdaq. After a great deal of anticipation, a rock-star like roadshow, and repeated SEC filings and re-filings, shares were finally priced at $38 each.

But there were problems from the first trades went off around 11:30 a.m. EDT. Executions were late, allotments askew, and prices delayed. Investors who did manage to get shares were disappointed when Facebook stock barely finished above the IPO price on its first day of trading, closing at $38.27.

Many investors felt misled and cheated. Scores have joined class action law suits against Facebook, Nasdaq, and the 33 underwriters.

But Nasdaq's recompense is being called a public relations ploy and does little to help individual investors.

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Facebook IPO Date: May 17 Might Be the Magic Day

By Diane Alter, Contributing Writer, Money Morning - April 19, 2012

Here's some news devout Facebook followers and savvy investors are sure to "like" - don't write it in ink just yet, but looks like May 17 could be the Facebook IPO date.

While Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) refused to comment, "multiple sources close to the company" say that is the date, according to TechCrunch.

Ever since Facebook filed the necessary papers to go public in February, speculation has run rampant as to the exact timing. Late spring sprung up as the most likely time, but no precise date was set.

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