Facebook Stock Regains IPO

Facebook’s May 18, 2012, initial public offering quickly turned from triumph to disaster. The stock went public at $38, and immediately fell out of bed, and then fell some more. Within a few months, Mark Zuckerberg’s juggernaut had lost about half its value. Investors were quick to write off the company as the latest dot bomb.

But, as the chart above shows, Facebook’s stock has been showing signs of life so far this year—and especially in the last several weeks. The stock, which opened at $37.98 Wednesday, and briefly traded above $38, has clawed back virtually all its losses—rewarding the faith of investors. The recent run-up can be tied to last week’s quarterly earnings release, which were significantly higher than anticipated. This growth has been attributed to rising mobile advertising revenue, which now account for 41 percent of the company’s ad earnings, as The New York Times explained.

One person sure to “Like” this recent development is Facebook cofounder Mark Zuckerberg, whose net worth jumped by close to $3.7 billion in a single day last Thursday, as Forbes noted.