ipo

Peter Thiel sells Facebook shares, pockets $400M

While this doesn't look great for those hoping that Facebook's stock starts rebounding, it's hard to accuse Facebook investor Peter Thiel of not being a Facebook believer.

Thiel, who in 2004 put in $500,000 to become Facebook's first outside investor, today revealed in an SEC filing that he sold about 20 million shares on Thursday and Friday at prices between $19.69 to $20.70. That comes to about $400 million -- an impressive return even if he did sell at a price almost half Facebook's IPO price of $38 a share. Thiel already … Read more

Microsoft makes its Facebook shares pay off, report says

A report suggests that Microsoft offloaded around 20 percent of its shares in Facebook just after the social network went public. In doing so, the software giant received $249 million back -- close to $10 million more than it first invested.

The Redmond, Wash.-based company invested $240 million in Facebook in 2007 for a 1.6 percent stake in the social network. Back then it wasn't a huge amount, but was a major boost for Facebook to have a dominant player on its roster. Soon after, Bing Search and Bing Maps were brought to the social network … Read more

A year after Zillow, Trulia files for IPO

The stock market is getting another home listing Web site.

Trulia today filed an S-1 Registration Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, kicking off the process of holding an IPO and offering its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "TRLA."

According to the documents filed with the SEC, Trulia generated $38.5 million in revenue last year, but lost $6.2 million. During the first six months of 2012, its revenue is way up, jumping to $29 million from $16.2 million during the same period last year. That said, the company … Read more

As if on cue, Facebook stock tumbles -- again

Well, this was predictable.

For weeks now, pundits, stock analysts and the media have been warning that Facebook shares -- already under pressure for a variety of reasons -- would face a fresh challenge when so-called "lockups" expire, allowinginsiders holding pre-IPO shares to start selling them.

And that's exactly what happened today, doubtless bringing joy to the many short sellers who bet on the stock to fall.

Today's "lockup" expiration was relatively small, with insiders now free to sell 271 million shares, adding to the 421 million already in circulation. Yet it was enough … Read more

The 404 1,111: Where we don't make a deal (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- This is the burger that ended Ariel's six-year vegetarian streak

- Groupon turns a profit, but sales fall short

- Groupon salespeople disgruntled, ready to jump ship, report says

- Groupon shares down 22 percent, despite increased sales, profit

- Facedeals lets you check in for coupons with your face

- Chinese Iron Man spends eight years building himself bionic hands after DIY accident

Bathroom break video: The Red Bull F1 running showcar plays the Star-Spangled Banner.

… Read more

As first 'lockup' ends, Facebook stock drops 5 percent

The first of Facebook's "lockups" has expired, meaning that insiders can start selling their stock. But so far, it appears that a flood of shares and a plummeting share price aren't in the offing for the social network.

In early-morning trading today, Facebook shares started out down about 5 percent to $20.15. It's by no means a reassuring performance, but things could have been much worse.

Today, 271 million shares were freed from their lockup, allowing insiders included in that grouping to sell as many of those pre-IPO shares as they'd like. However, … Read more

Facebook stock: Let the insider selling begin

Of all the challenges to Facebook's oh-so-challenged stock -- such as the company's struggle with the giant shift to mobile, and its slowdown of user growth in the U.S. -- one thing Wall Street watchers have been talking a lot about is the upcoming expiration of "lockups" in which insiders can start selling their stock.

And it begins tomorrow. Over the course of the next year, pre-IPO holders of Facebook stock will be able to start dumping their shares, with the potential of adding more than 2 billion shares to the market. In a game … Read more

Building apps for Facebook: A dance with the devil

Dalton Caldwell caused a stir recently when he posted an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg, accusing top Facebook execs of threatening his latest startup with the Luca Brasi treatment: Sell out to us or we'll crush you.

"I had explicit approval from Facebook to build what I was building," says Caldwell, a software developer who unexpectedly found himself in the crosshairs because an app he was building to run atop Facebook was similar to Facebook's recently unveiled App Center. "They said, 'Sorry, we just need the revenue.'"

Caldwell's public dust-up with Facebook -- … Read more

Waiting for Facebook to hit IPO price again? Keep waiting

Editors' note: This is a guest column. See Marty Wolf's bio below.

Social-media enthusiasts with eyes on the stock market bought into Facebook's initial public offering May 18. Now those who clung to the stock are wondering: When will shares of Facebook climb back to their IPO price of $38 a share?

My answer: About 32 quarters -- or eight years.

Here's why:

I did an analysis August 1, when Facebook closed at $20.88 a share. That's right about where the stock is currently trading. This puts Facebook's price-to-earnings ratio based on the last … Read more