Facebook shares slump 6% as lock-up period ends

Shares in social networking giant Facebook have hit a new low, falling another 6% after the first lock-in period ended and its largest investors were able to sell the stock.

The shares fell 6.27% to close at $19.87 on the Nasdaq yesterday, down from $20.74 on Wednesday. This is one of the largest post-lock-up decline among companies that have gone public since 2011. Linkedin shares dropped about 7% when its lock-up period expired before rebounding, while Groupon fell 10% on its expiration day. Some 421 million shares have been trading since Facebook shares were floated in May at $38 each. Lock-ups prevent company insiders from selling their shares in a newly-floated firm, and usually start to expire 90 days from the initial public offering. Over the...