Facebook deflates any thought of new tech bubble
The horrendous stock market debut for Facebook suggests investors are
not ready to jump in and create another tech bubble despite big
expectations for social media, analysts say.
Facebook closed out its first full week of trade with a loss of 16
percent from its offering price of $38, in a huge disappointment after a
much-hyped initial public offering worth $16 billion, the biggest for a
tech firm.
The stock failed to live up to the anticipation of some who thought
investors would be stampeding to get a piece of the network which has
900 million users.
“When you see Facebook share prices tank, it does get people back on
to a more foundational basis, in terms of real revenues, real profits,”
said Nick Landell-Mills at Indigo Equity Research.
Mark Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association,
said investors are being more cautious than during the tech bubble of
the late 1990s. “This is by no means the end of social media. It is
going to continue to grow and expand,” he said.
But he said that during the tech bubble, “venture capitalists
invested $150 billion in two years. In the last two years we invested
about $60 billion. There is much, much less money in the system right
now. That's critically important.” Gerard Hoberg, professor of finance
at the University of Maryland, said he does not expect a new bubble,
given today's market sentiment.
“I think it's very healthy and I think people learned the lessons
from the 1990s,” he said. “It's preventing a bubble from forming.”
Facebook appeared to be the driving force in a surge into social media.
But some of its social media brethren are also being watched cautiously.
Zynga, the social gaming website which has strong ties with Facebook,
has lost some 35 percent, and the online deals firm Groupon has slid
nearly 40 percent. But the professional social network LinkedIn has
doubled in a year since its IPO.
AFP |