Facebook finally closes above IPO price

The social network finishes the week exactly where it started 14 months ago.

(Credit: Sarah Tew) 

 

It took more than 14 months, but Facebook has finally bounced back from a disastrous initial public offering. Friday, the social network's shares closed above its offering price of $38 for only the second time in history.
Facebook finished an especially fortuitous week of trading at $38.05. The last time the company's shares closed higher than $38 was on May 18, 2012, its very first day of trading.

Facebook's IPO day was marred by Nasdaq technical glitches, scrambling underwriters, and emerging questions surrounding whether the company shared material information with some insiders. A full year later, the social network seemed to still be having a hard time shaking off the bad rap.
The company's latest earnings report, however, has quelled pretty much all concerns about its nascent mobile business and has given investors more confidence in Facebook's ability to monetize its audience of 1.15 billion people, whether or not those consumers choose mobile over desktop. Facebook said it made 41 percent of its advertising revenue from mobile in the second quarter of 2013. The social network made a total of $1.81 billion in the quarter and earned 19 cents per share on an adjusted basis.