The stock price of the company has fallen 42% since Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, announced that it would be changing its name and shifting its focus.
The company that was formerly Facebook has doubled down on its metaverse first identity by changing its Nasdaq ticker symbol to META from FB.
The stock of the social media giant was not affected by the rebrand.
The stock formerly known under the name FB dropped 6.43% at market close on Thursday. META currently trades at $184.00. This is close to the stock’s record low of $174.95 in April.
Twitter users joked that no matter what the reason for today’s drop in price, the ticker swap will not address the many problems currently facing the company.
Late October saw Mark Zuckerberg , CEO of Facebook, announce Facebook’s rebranding to Meta. This reflected the company’s continued commitment to the metaverse, which is still a young business.
The metaverse refers to a virtual world that is accessible by users of the internet via 3D avatars. Many developers, including Zuckerberg believe that the metaverse will be the future hub for work, shopping and social interaction.
The rebranding coincided with Frances Haugen’s shocking testimony before the U.S. Senate earlier in the month. In it, the former employee claimed numerous ways that the social media giant allowed and algorithmically encouraged hate speech and fake News.
The company’s focus shift has been met with a cool reception by the markets. Meta’s stock fell almost 42% since October’s announcement. It fell 26% in February on the heels of Q4 2021 earnings reports that showed stagnant user growth and the company shifting its resources to metaverse-related ambitions.
The stock market is experiencing a tough quarter, with the current stock drop coming during a particularly difficult quarter for -related companies. Today’s decline in the Nasdaq was 2.75%. Meta’s was more than twice that.
Is today’s drop indicative of a further loss in confidence in Zuckerberg’s metaverse pivot or is it merely a practical result? Is it the result of the symbol-change itself, which can have an impact on trading volume? Barrons, a financial news service, reported today that researchers found a significant reduction in trading volume following a ticker switch.
