May 22 (Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX Group Inc has been sued by an
investor who claimed the exchange operator was negligent in
handling orders for Facebook Inc shares following its initial
public offering, causing losses for investors.
In addition, a different civil lawsuit was filed against
Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, IPO underwriters Morgan Stanley & Co
and others alleging violations of securities laws.
Phillip Goldberg, a Maryland resident, is seeking
class-action status on behalf of all investors who lost money
because Nasdaq delayed or otherwise mishandled their buy, sell
or cancellation orders for Facebook stock on May 18, the day the
social networking company went public.
A technical glitch delayed Facebook's market debut by
roughly half an hour, and later delayed order confirmations.
Nasdaq Chief Executive Robert Greifeld told investors at his
company's annual meeting on Tuesday that "clearly we had
mistakes in the Facebook listing," but more than 570 million
shares were processed on the first day.
Goldberg filed his lawsuit on Tuesday in the U.S. District
Court in Manhattan.
SHARES SLIDE
Separately, investor Darryl Lazar filed a proposed
class-action lawsuit in a California state court, alleging that
Facebook's registration and prospectus were materially false,
according to a statement from plaintiff law firm Glancy Binkow &
Goldberg.
Reuters reported late on Monday that the consumer Internet
analyst at lead underwriter Morgan Stanley cut his revenue
forecasts for Facebook in the days before the offering,
information that may not have reached many investors before the
stock was listed.
Representatives from Facebook and Morgan Stanley could not
immediately be reached for comment on the securities
class-action.
Facebook shares sank on Monday and Tuesday -- their second
and third days of trading -- to end at $31, more than 18 percent
below the initial public offering price of $38.
The Nasdaq case is Goldberg v. Nasdaq OMX Group Inc et al,
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No.
12-04054.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel)