Amid all the articles analyzing the Facebook (FB) IPO, with all the very legitimate concerns about lack of disclosure by underwriters or procedural errors by the market on the day of the IPO, seems to be a core belief that investors who bought stock on the day of the IPO deserve to have profited. The stock should have been priced lower to enable it to rise on the first day, the owners or original investors should have forgone some of their profits, and the starting price should have been perfectly aligned with, or lower than, the ultimate market price. If the price had gone up by 50% on the first day, very few people would be complaining about disclosures or procedures.

Without taking away from the seriousness of the disclosure or procedural problems, I'd like to remind everyone of two things.

First point: Until the day of the IPO, the

That said, there is a difference between the business models of both companies. Facebook needs to rely solely on advertising and commissions from in-game payments from companies like Zynga (ZNGA). LinkedIn, on the other hand, has paying-subscribers in the form of job seekers and recruiters. LinkedIn knows what its business model is and where its revenue comes from. Facebook, on the other hand, seems unsure how to grow revenue or monetize users further, especially on mobile devices.

I compared Facebook to Google (GOOG), Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) in terms of valuation and came to the conclusion that the Facebook IPO is going nowhere short term and medium term.

What "coulda" ignited a desperately needed thriving IPO market, Facebook's (FB) IPO is going down in the history books as a cluster of mishaps complete with a series of investigations and lawsuits looming in the distance.

In case there was even a shred of doubt left, the Facebook IPO validates just how dysfunctional the public markets have become. Not to mention greed-infested and corrupt. Was it really necessary for Morgan Stanley to inform its institutional clients during Facebook's roadshow that it was cutting its estimates while simultaneously raising the price and size of the offering?

Does anyone sympathize with the weeping hedge fund manager who lost $100 million by trying to flip Facebook on the open? This same hedge fund "woulda" quintupled its money had its manager read Lou Kerner's Facebook report on SecondShares in March 2010 that placed a $100 billion price target on Facebook when it was valued

It's time to Party Like It's 1999. With the recent Facebook (FB) IPO, we went back to the future to worship the mighty dollar in the form of rampant speculation, whisper numbers and media hype. This time around, however, the feeding frenzy remained relatively contained between Menlo Park and Wall Street. Facebook went public amid a sagging stock market chock full of cynical investors who have already been demoralized by the dot-com, housing, and credit boom and busts of this Dead Money era. Now, after the fallout from its lackluster debut, Facebook must answer the call upon its ability to monetize. Ironically, many calls to and from headquarters will come from the very same Apple iPhone (AAPL), Nokia Lumia (NOK), and Google Android (GOOG) smartphones that will destroy this business.

Facebook Valuations

On May 18, 2012, Facebook went public on the Nasdaq stock market. In exchange for putting up cash,

<< Return to Part 1

We published a piece titled "4 Reasons To Stay Clear Of Facebook" a few days ago. This article presents 4 more reasons why the average investor will be better of staying away from Facebook (FB), at least for now. There is always a chance that any company could turn out to be a successful investment over the long term but right now, the signs are not in favor of FB.

Mark Zuckerberg: Yes, the genius who created this billion dollar empire. Where is he amidst all these allegations and fiasco about FB IPO? Yes, he got married last week and must be busy with his personal life. But come on, should the face of the company not issue a statement about these ? Even during the pre-IPO road show, Zuckerberg's involvement was very minimal. It is one thing to be a shy genius when you

What a disappointment Friday's Facebook (FB) IPO was. How anticlimactic after all the build up and hype. What a debacle for Morgan Stanley (MS) and Nasdaq in what should have been their moment of triumph. Where to begin in this comedy of errors?

It starts with Morgan Stanley's decision to increase the size and price of the offering. An IPO that was originally targeted at $10 billion ballooned to $16 billion. Gauging the seemingly limitless demand for shares, Morgan Stanley must have thought the market could bear the increased size. In retrospect, they dumped too many shares at too high a price into the market resulting in the IPO being dead on arrival.

As if that wasn't enough, Nasdaq's computerized system botched the transaction process. The 30 minute delay in opening shares was the result of their trying to resolve a bug that prevented traders from modifying and cancelling orders.

In my short stint as a Seeking Alpha contributor, I have found that writing is a continual improvement process, and believe that the work done to produce my articles has helped me develop as a writer and an investor. Over the last couple of weeks, I have produced what I believed were thought-provoking articles on a host of varied topics including the outperformance of low-volatility strategies, the appearance of an increase in structural volatility in equity markets, and the demographic influences on future economic performance of the BRIC economies. All of the interest in these articles paled in comparison to the leading question I have received from friends, family, and colleagues over this period: "Should I buy Facebook (FB)?" I have also learned over my brief time producing Seeking Alpha content that you have to give your readers what they want, so here is a look at Facebook's valuation through

If you were one of the many small investors clamoring to get a piece of the Facebook (FB) IPO, then, I am sorry to say this, you deserve to lose your money. Twelve years after a Wall Street promoted, media hyped tech bubble ravished the portfolios of millions of investors and five years after a Wall Street promoted, media hyped housing bubble caused "The Great Recession," you would think that already skeptical investors, weary of Wall Street and financial markets, would see the Wall Street promoted, media hyped FB IPO and turn the other way. Granted, it was difficult to turn away considering that the IPO was mentioned on all financial and non-financial media outlets from here to Timbuktu. However, I do recall similar coverage of the 2000 tech bubble as well as numerous stories on how housing would make all of us rich so maybe it was best just

Facebook's (FB) IPO was only the 4th IPO to value a company at $100 billion. In fact, the $16 billion that Facebook raised is considerably more than the $1.67Bn that Google (GOOG) raised in 2004 - and mind-boggling compared to the $101 million that Apple (AAPL) received from investors in 1980. Even adjusted for inflation, the money that Apple raised when it listed is worth just around $270 million today.

That said, the comparisons between Facebook and Apple - or Facebook and Google are tenuous, at best. Both Apple and Google operate and have strengths in different fields; they are more readily comparable to one another, competing in areas such as smartphones, online markets and operating systems.

Facebook is, despite it recent deviations into imaging and media streaming, a Social Network like LinkedIn (LNKD).

Other than their common ubiquity, the similarity between Facebook and the two technology giants rests in

After all this Facebook (FB) IPO craziness, one has to wonder about the way people look at investments. I'm not criticizing, just finding it interesting because it happens from time to time. Of course, just looking at the numbers is not enough when trying to estimate the present value of a company, but it's a fundamental part of the decision-making process of investing. After all, we should know what we are paying for.

It's very improbable that two individuals, when deciding about investing on a company, arrive at the same valuation. Each one of us are faced with different alternatives, objectives, expectations about the company, society, demographics... you get the point? And all this perception that we have influences the price we are willing to pay for a piece of a company. It's easy if you were analyzing company A versus company B on a piece of paper. It's hard

Based in Fremont, California, Corsair Components (CRSR) scheduled a $78 million IPO with a market capitalization of $223 million at a price range mid-point of $13 for Thursday May 2, 2012. [S-1]

UNDERWRITERS
Manager, Joint Managers: Stifel Nicolaus Weisel; RBC Capital Markets.

SUMMARY
CRSR makes gaming components for personal computers and generally has seasonally low March and June quarters.

March quarter revenue was up 23% in 2012 to $132 million from $107 million in the March 2011 quarter. Net income dropped to $3 million from $5 million.

March 2012 gross margins were 15% of revenue and net profit was 2% of revenue.

CONCLUSION
At 16 times earnings for the 12 months ended March 2012, it looks like the CRSR IPO could happen, perhaps at a lower price.

IPOdesktop generally doesn't like technology companies with a low 15% gross margin, particularly where commodity DRAM prices have an undue influence at bottom

Despite a recent correction in global equity markets the initial public offering market remains readily accessible. This week I will review the initial public offerings for the week of May 7 till 11 May.

Last week's IPO's

Four companies decided it was time to go public last week. Western Asset Mortgage Capital (WMC), WageWorks (WAGE) Audience (ADNC) and Ignite Restaurant Group (IRG) took the jump and got their listing.

At first sight the IPO's were a great success. On average these companies returned 17.4% on their opening day while their total returns since inception fell to 9.2% amidst a slump in global equity markets. Shares of WageWorks saw a particular strong first day jump but have given up most parts of the gains, while Ignite Restaurants Group managed to expand their first day gains. Western Asset Mortgage Capital saw its shares fall on their debut day by some 6.2% and

Computer hardware component maker Corsair (CRSR) is set to go public this week with an expected price range of $12.00 to $14.00. The company is trading 6 million shares with 4,124,000 shares being sold by the company and an additional 1,876,000 being sold from existing shareholders. After the IPO, a total of 17,152,159 shares will be outstanding. Assuming a selling price at mid range of $13, Corsair will have a beginning market capitalization of $223 million.

The company, founded in 1994, makes hardware components for personal computers, with a large market of its customers being people who play video games on computers. Gamers who build or upgrade their computer are typical customers of Corsair's products. The company operates in two business segments:

• High performance memory components $235.4 million, 51.7% of sales
• Gaming components and peripherals $219.8 million, 48.3% of sales

Corsair products can be found in 60 countries through retail

In the mid-1980s discoveries in biotechnology were revealed and investors piled-into many new companies like Genentech and Amgen. But the technology was yet to produce profits for many years to come. Mutual fund companies devoted some funds to this new area of investment but it took over a decade before the sector started to produce results. ETFs IBB and XBI naturally were to follow but not until early in the last decade. Initial investors in the area were too soon and many lost money and became impatient leaving the sector. Eventually good results were to be had even after many companies failed or were merged with others.

The early hype proved seductive but as you may glean, timing was everything.

Former President Bill Clinton in his first State of the Union speech made a pitch for alternative energy focusing especially on fuel cell technology and Wall Street was quick to

Clownishness, much like beauty, stands in the eye of the beholder. So let's gather together to behold a clownish trade. Granted: playing Monday Morning quarterback to lame stock trades is a bit selective, even venal. But in the end, you learn from analyzing mistakes. Plus, what's more fun than making fun of missteps and pratfalls? With all that said, welcome to the next installment of The Clownish Trade of the Day…

Talk about a three-ring circus: let's consider Facebook (FB). Yesterday, it traded like an offering. It was down God-knows what, the latest installment to a three-day slide in the wake of Friday's disaster of an IPO. But more to the point: the offering was all anybody was talking about.

The mechanics of the Facebook offering, to be certain, defined dysfunctional. It was so mishandled, you'd think James Dolan and the Knicks (CVC) were running the show. Morgan Stanley (MS)

By now everyone has accepted the fact that the Facebook (FB) IPO has been a flop and the headline grabbing issues that have followed have been stunning.

• The ridiculously high P/E assigned at the last possible moment
• The increased number of shares issued at the very last moment
• The Nasdaq trading confirmation issues that left both investors and traders in the dark for hours (if not longer)
• Then over allocation of shares for many brokerage firms which went unknown until the last minute
• The share price "support" given by the underwriters to delay the inevitable drop in price simply to protect the IPO launch.

I could go on, but the many news reports that have outlined this mess are just about everywhere for everyone to read.

This CNBC article outlines the many stories associated with the Facebook IPO issues:

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's chairman said on Tuesday that regulators

Private equity firm CVC Capital (CVC) has sold a $1.6 billion (1.0 billion pounds) stake in 'Formula One' to three investors including BlackRock (BLK) ahead of the motor racing company's planned $3 billion IPO in Singapore. This deal sets a benchmark valuation of at least $7 billion for the company as financial advisers begin to target potential cornerstone and retail investors during the pre-marketing process of the IPO. The shares are expected to debut in June after the company received approval from the exchange for its $3 billion IPO.

The pre-IPO deal cuts CVC's stake in Formula One to about 40% from 63.4%. The two other investors are asset manager Waddell & Reed (WDR) and Norway's Norges Bank Investment Management, the asset management unit of the Norwegian central bank (ENOR). This deal raised some capital, which may be required, and it gives the IPO a little bit more credibility if

Going into the infamous Facebook (FB) IPO many investors were wondering how they could get some shares of the world's most famous social network. Depending on your broker and your connections, you may or many not have been able to buy shares at the IPO price. If you were able to purchase them at that price, you might have been patting yourself on the back a few days ago, thinking you pulled off a Coup d'état snagging shares at $38 while they were sure to go higher over all the retail frenzy to buy them as they went public.

Oh what a difference a few days can make. We know now that $38 a share was not such a great deal after all. And not only that, it was a pretty lousy deal in which you may or may not have had all of the information that some other clients

You can't blame America for reveling in Facebook's failure, even if some seem to be enjoying the social media darling's trip and fall a bit too much. After all, Facebook - much like a silver spooned child - has gotten everything it has ever wanted. Until now.

Hundreds of millions of users? Check.

Eye-popping engagement? Check.

Billions to bank roll growth? Check.

Media hype pushed the IPO buzz to unattainable levels. Instead of under promising and over delivering, Facebook's IPO accomplished the absolute opposite. Of course, it was destined to fail. As most IPO's have shown, few trade in a straight line higher. Instead, they spend considerable time digesting their new public life.

Consider the following Linkedin (LNKD) chart. In the first 10 days of trading, the networking social media site retreated 16.5%. And, it

The Offering

Corsair Components (CRSR) manufactures high-performance components for PC gamers, specifically those who build their own computers or customize pre-built systems to achieve faster processing speeds and improve graphic capabilities. The company has around 800 employees and is based out of Fremont, California. Corsair is pricing 6 million shares at a price of $12 - $14 per share and is expected to begin trading on May 24th. It hopes to raise $78 million and trade with a market cap of $223 million. The managers and co-managers of the deal are Stifel Nicolaus Weisel, RBC Capital Markets (RY), William Blair & Company and Needham & Company.

Corsair Components' Business

Today's leading edge video games have vast virtual environments, high quality digital sound and in order to be successful must create an in-depth and immersive user experience. To use all the features of today's popular games requires significant computer system resources,