Facebook Stock, Fueled by Mobile, Rises to Highest Price Since IPO
Facebook shares on Monday rose to their highest closing price since the day after its initial public offering amid optimism that the world’s largest social network can bolster sales from mobile advertising.
The stock jumped 4.2% to $35.43 at 4 p.m. in New York, the highest close since May 18, 2012 — the first day of trading after Facebook sold shares to the public at $38 each. The shares have advanced 33% this year, compared with an 18 percent increase in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
The gain is a turnabout for Facebook, whose stock slumped as low as $17.73 in September. Concern about Facebook’s ability to sell more ads for wireless devices weighed on the shares after its $16 billion IPO, the largest technology offering on record. In a sign that CEO Mark Zuckerberg is now making progress in mobile, Facebook last week said ads on smartphones and tablets generated 41% of revenue in the second quarter, up from 14% a year earlier.
