In attempt to make up for the disastrous technical glitches that occurred when Facebook went public on May 18, confusing investors and costing them millions, the NASDAQ QMX stock exchange on which Facebook is traded announced it will be paying back $40 million in “voluntary accomodations.”
Individual investors who are seeking repayment will need to have their claims evaluated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). As NASDAQ explained in a press release on Wednesday:
Members will qualify for accommodation if:
1. They were directly disadvantaged due to technical problems on the part of NASDAQ prior to the start of continuous trading at 11:30 a.m.; and
2. They had uncertainty regarding their IPO cross position.
Specifically, NASDAQ is looking to repay those investors who were attempting to trade when the stock price hit $42 on Facebook’s first day of trading. The share price has since plummeted to about $20 now. NASDAQ stated that the technical problems, which were apparently caused by massive trade order cancellations ahead of the IPO, “have been remedied.”
