Shares in Facebook fell Monday to less than half
the price they were offered at in May, as a lock on selling by
long-term investors expired.
The shares opened at 19.05 dollars on the New York stock exchange,
but then fell to below 19 dollars - about half the price of 38
dollars at the time of the initial public offering.
The shares had already plunged to a low late last week, after the
ban on trading by early investors ended.
The ban on selling affected long-term investors who have held 271
million shares in the social networking service since as far back as
2004 and 2005.
It was still unclear whether early investors were indeed among the
sellers. However, regulatory filings due to be made soon will
disclose how many major shareholders sold their stock, Bloomberg news
reported.
