A lawsuit against Facebook and a group of banks is moving forward, following a new decision from a federal judge today. Manhattan federal judge Robert Sweet says unhappy investors can pursue claims that the social network botched certain disclosures in its initial public offering last May. That suit, filed in June last year, claims Facebook "selectively" disclosed parts of its revenue outlook to only some investors and not all. Those estimates were trimmed based on expectations of increased mobile use, something the company had trouble making money on versus desktop users.

Angry investors and soaring stock

On top of targeting Facebook, Reute …

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Facebook's much-ballyhooed IPO quickly gave way to accusations and recriminations, and according to Bloomberg TV banker Morgan Stanley has now been fined by the State of Massachusetts in connection with the situation. It's not clear yet what issues the $5 million fine is redressing, but when Facebook's stock price tanked concerns were raised that some banks had told particular clients they had issues with the stock - potentially leaving regular investors holding the bag. While it's notable that the bank is being fined, its hard to see the amount as anything more than a minor slap on the rest, particularly given the $104.12 billion valuation F …

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A group of investors who collectively claim to have lost $7.1 million have been named as the lead plantiffs in securities lawsuits that state that Facebook misrepresented its financial conditions prior to its IPO this past May. As reported by Reuters, U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet called the plaintiffs in the proposed class-action case "large, institutional investors with experience representing shareholder classes in similar litigation with the resources to pursue the action" - it sounds like the judge it taking the case seriously and that Facebook won't be let off the hook too easily, despite the risks that naturally come along with inv …

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The technology and financial industries were foaming at the mouth when Facebook was preparing to announce that it was going public earlier this year, an event that would represent the largest IPO ever for a web company. But even with Mark Zuckerberg at the helm, the company's performance in the stock market revealed a flurry of miscalculations and an overabundance of hype, ultimately leading to an all-time low value of $18.06 per share last Friday.

So should the company's chief executive take the blame for losing $50 billion in market value in just three months since the IPO? Or maybe it's the fault of the Wall Street banks? According to De …

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Shares of Facebook fell 9.62 percent today, to $28.84, continuing the downward slide the company has been on since it went public two weeks ago at $38 a share. The steady decline has many investors wondering where the bottom is.

If Facebook traded at the same price-to-earnings ratio as its competitors for online advertising dollars - such as Google - the social network's stock would be worth somewhere between $16-20. Right now Facebook is trading at a P/E ratio of roughly 74 to 1. Google, by comparison, is trading at 18 to 1. Price-to-earnings is a guide, not an unbreakable principle. Amazon, for example, stands apart from its peers, tradin …

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