Facebook Shares Hit New Low As Investors Flee

Falling, falling, falling:

Facebook's shares fell to new lows in early trading Thursday as insiders were freed to sell another 270m shares.

The expiration of a lock-up period for insiders increased the pool of available shares by 60%. Facebook's share price fell close to 7% in early trading to $19.73, a level that is more than 46% lower than the $38 IPO price set in May.

Goldman Sachs, Elevation Partners, which counts U2's Bono as a partner, and DST Global are among the early investors that will now be allowed to sell more shares. Goldman and DST were among the investors who increased the number of shares they sold at $38 shortly before the IPO.

Facebook's shares have been hit hard as analysts have worried the firm has yet to figure out a way to make money from mobile users, the fastest growing of their business. After such a precipitous fall in share price, analysts are split on whether investors will take advantage of the end of the lock-up to sell more shares.

One analyst, who wished to remain anonymous, pointed to Angie's List, a referral service, whose share price plummeted on Tuesday after its IPO lockup expired. "I wouldn't even think of buying this until the price comes down," he said

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A commenter at The Guardian writes the following:

Capitalism eats itself as a company that produces nothing fools the foolish and gets them to buy shares in it and then they are shocked when suddenly they realise a company that produces nothing can't actually be worth anything in real terms.......

Angie's List, Zynga, Groupon, Facebook - gee, feels like the Tech Bubble Burst all over again.