Facebook Stock Goes Public, Are You Buying?

Facebook is going public on Friday. As if it already wasn’t.

Tech mogul Mark Zuckerberg has set himself up for one of the biggest opening day hauls in history, further augmented by the recent increase in Initial Public Offering. The newly set price ranges from $34 to $38 a share, and could potentially raise as much as $16 billion due to lucrative investor demand.

Now, the majority of high school students are oblivious to stocks, albeit aware of their existence. On the other hand, an enormous amount of them are acquainted with Facebook - well enough to express their personal opinions on the subject. The combination is likely to attract sizeable attention, especially from residents of either ends of the spectrum. The following is a collection of quotes from students offering their opinion on Facebook stocks.

“I think Facebook is overvalued – they still have to pay billions in taxes so they will not grow as quickly as people think.”

“There’s too much speculation about it, and we’ve seen it before in the dot-com boom. Of course there will be some profits but not as much as people think.”

“I wouldn’t be able to tell you how well it’s going to be, but based on how well it’s been doing up to this point it’s hard to bet against it.”

“They (stocks) are probably good. I mean Facebook has a lot of money.”

“The stocks are expensive, and I don’t even have enough money. I mean it’s going to rise, and others will buy it simultaneously, causing it to have a higher market price, but there’s still other stuff to buy.”

“That’s kind of cool how Facebook developed their own stock. It’s a great way to share the profits.”

“I’m probably not going to buy any (Facebook stocks), but I’m fine with the people that do – whatever floats your boat.”

In conclusion, most high school students probably won’t go out of their way to purchase Facebook stocks. They’ll be fine simply acknowledging it as social media or their provider of “Farmville.” However, to stock investors and individuals of the sort, this Friday will be the start of a new chapter for Facebook (pun intended).

Unlike its peers, Facebook’s value isn’t in the appeal its product has over its consumers – it’s in the fact that Facebook’s product is its consumers. Potential shareholders will be buying into the belief that Facebook can effectively maintain its influence over (nearly) one billion individuals in the world. No one knows for sure whether this method will prove successful, but Friday’s showing will be a big indicator.