The Facebook IPO, which could have been a major black eye for the stock market has instead turned out to have had little effect on American's investment plans, the latest CNBC All-American Economic Survey finds.
When Facebook went public, the company set a record in the tech industry raising $16 billion dollars. Yet, some call it the worst IPO ever, while others are more kind and say it's the worst in a decade.
Much of the criticism stems from the fact that in the week before the event, the decision was made to increase the number of shares offered to 421.2 million and to raise the asking price from $28 to $35 to $34 to $38 per share.
Underwriters starting selling shares on May 17 for $38. After tracking prices for five days, Bloomberg reported that Facebook shares fell 13 percent over that period.
Facebook's IPO has the distinction of producing the worst return among the largest US deals in the last decade, Bloomberg said.
There were also serious technical problems with Nasdaq's software that among other things prevented the timely confirmation of orders. As a result of the glitches, according to Reuters, the top four market makers lost more the $115 million.
“The mishandling of Facebook's initial public offering in May has rattled the confidence of retail investors who were already leery of financial markets following a string of crises over the past several years,” Reuters quoted Fred Tomcyzk CEO of TD Ameritrade as saying.
However, according to the CNBC survey 72 percent of the public heard either a lot or something of the Facebook debacle. But, 72 percent of the 800 Americans polled said it will have no effect on their plans to invest in stocks.
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