Facebook shares dive to new low

Before closing at $28.84 on Tuesday, Facebook’s stock sank as low as $28.65, down $3.07, or 9.6 percent. That number is down nearly 24 percent since the social networking service’s initial public offering on May 18, the largest IPO by an Internet company. Facebook began trading publicly earlier this month following one of the most anticipated stock offerings in history. A day before the social network’s debut, the stock priced at $38 a share.

Facebook’s public debut was scarred by technical glitches at the Nasdaq Stock Market that delayed trading. The company, along with the investment banks that led the IPO, is also the current subject of shareholder lawsuits. Investors claim that the analysts at the investment banks, including lead underwriter Morgan Stanley, cut their financial forecasts for Facebook just before the IPO and told only a handful of clients. With the new low, the social network’s value is about $79 billion.