Uh oh. Facebook’s share price dropped below $20 on Thursday—its lowest price yet—and the company has now lost half its value since its $38 debut on the market in May. Analysts said investors are worried about the social media company’s growth prospects as well as the high-level departures—and the looming deadline of August 16th, when 271 million shares will be available for trading. “The sentiment on this thing is so negative,” said Topeka Capital Markets analyst Victor Anthony. In other bad news for Facebook, the company admitted in company filings on Thursday that it believes there are 83 million illegitimate accounts out of the 955 million registered users.
By Diane Sweet
— August 2, 2012