For a while now, Facebook has been one of the hottest ‘buys’ on the market. Just 5 years ago the stock sold for $27.77 and reached it’s peak with a high 52-week range at $192.32. For any investor that was lucky enough to hold their equity from the inception of Facebook IPO back in 2012 has seen a 400% return to date.
Just 2 months ago, analysts were raving about Facebook’s 2 billion monthly users, which were estimated to bring in $6 each, adding to their already large revenue. They overcame problems like saturation and a small mobile presence by none other than the brilliant innovative mind of CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Again, just 2 months ago analysts were predicting incredible EPS growth and an increase in generated revenue. The steady, yet somewhat fast growth led many to recommend bullish investments in the Facebook stock. However, some people are changing their mind with recent scandals and negative media presence. If you haven’t heard about the data breach, we highly recommend utilizing an online stock trading software that won’t only help you manage accounts, but also provide you with real-time stock market information. If your broker doesn’t provide this service yet, you might want to find one who does.
In recent days, Facebook has experienced somewhat of a hit as their stock price has dropped 6.8% and then another 2.5%. The first loss was it’s greatest single loss in four years, so it was bound to shake up investors. Access to online trading platforms will provide you with the intricate charts and real-time streaming quotes gives you the immediate information on what’s happening with your owned stocks or stocks on your watch list.
Apparently what happened is that personal data of about 50 million Facebook using Americans were unethically shared with political purpose. The sharing of this data with third parties was in fact put in the policies that you have to read and sign off on before becoming a Facebook user. However, Zuckerberg released a statement saying there was “a breach of trust between Facebook and the people who share their data with us and expect us to protect it.” He added, “we have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can’t then we don’t deserve to serve you. We also made mistakes, there’s more to do, and we need to step up and do it.”
Some people are arguing that this scandal is going to be the first of many large ones with Facebook, a company too big to control so much data. Other analysts are calling this a perfect time to buy. If you’re looking at it strictly number wise, Facebook’s financials are doing just fine. In that case why wouldn’t you buy when everyone else is selling? Trading volume was high at 246% of normal on the day the stock dropped by a whopping 6.8% and was followed up by a trading day of 367% the day when Facebook continued to drop another 2.5%.
Investments can’t be based simply on numbers. It might sound like the logical way to risk your money, but in reality, it’s all about how you feel towards a company. Facebook has done incredibly well since its inception, is it worth writing them off for this scandal? You can follow Facebook and the news regarding its stock price more closely with online stock trading software. Ask your broker if they provide a customized platform like Etna. This highly advanced software will provide you will up to date price alerts, live interactive charts, cross browser access, and lightening fast trading capabilities.
Investing opportunities within the stock market can be very lucrative if you’re smart and lucky. Before doing anything, you should do extensive research on the company as well as recent market trends.