The downward trajectory of Facebook’s price after its
Initial Public Offering (IPO) wasn't a great shock. Perhaps the bigger surprise is how many
column inches have been spent analysing a story that can be summarized as “high
price, low earnings, uncertain future”.
Sentiment is a powerful driver of stock prices, but only when there’s
money around to back it up.
In fact IPO’s do seem to be generally subject to
overpricing, which isn’t as obvious a trend as you might expect, given that
owners tend to retain large stakes and to look for ways of retaining control of
their precious creations. For most
retail investors, though, IPO’s are probably best avoided on principle. The principle being not losing money.