The possibility that Facebook might register with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a public stock offering as early as Wednesday may make certain mutual funds seem palatable, although it’s overly idealistic to expect any upside this way.

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Facebook may submit paperwork as early as Wednesday to register for an initial public offering that could be the largest of all time and make the social network one of the world’s most valuable companies.

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While no one at Facebook nor any financial institution has ever said anything on the record about an initial public offering by the leading social network, everyone else talks about it as if it were imminent. It’s not so certain, as the company might hold off for other opportunities that could arise from legislative changes and private marketplaces.

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Facebook shares rose about nine percent in value in the last auction on SharesPost, to close at $33 apiece on Friday, compared to a previous $30.

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Zynga has increased the amount of money it plans to raise in its initial public offering to $1.15 billion, according to an amended filing the company made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has finally changed his tune about selling stock to the public, according to the latest chorus of rumors.

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Facebook’s value fell for the third time in a row, to $80 billion, as an auction closed on SharesPost yesterday at $32 per share.

The $75 billion valuation assumes Facebook still has 2.5 billion outstanding shares.

The previous auction had closed at $32.10 per share, valuing the company at $82.25 billion in late September.

And the auction before that finished at $33 per share, ending what had been a plateau at $35 a share for three auctions in a row.

So far this descent seems more like a correction in the price rather than a selloff — settling down a bit now can prevent a bigger drop in price later.

Supporting this interpretation of the last three transactions: Facebook’s revenues continue to surge, at a pace that could at least double this year, and that trend may keep the company’s stock price from plunging too far down.

We’re curious to hear what you think the pattern in the last three transactions might bode for the stock in the months ahead: Is this a correction or the beginning of a bigger selloff?

And here’s what SharesPost said about the transaction in an email to members today:

We are writing SharesPost members like you who indicated they would like to occasionally receive news from SharesPost.

SharesPost’s affiliated broker-dealer completed its auction of 70,000 shares of the Class B Common Stock of Facebook, Inc. on October 26th. A clearing price of $32.00 was established at the auction. Members submitting Qualifying Bids at or above the clearing price will be contacted shortly with instructions on next steps for completing this transaction.

SharesPost members who wish to be informed of and be eligible to participate in future auctions of private company securities must first be qualified by our affiliated broker-dealer as an accredited investor under the securities laws. To get qualified, please click on the green button below. We look forward to serving you at SharesPost in the future.

Facebook’s leading game developer Zynga reportedly scheduled its initial public offering for the second week of November.

That’s what unnamed sources told Reuters, claiming they were briefed on the offering.

The unnamed sources said this date hasn’t been finalized and could change.

So we’ll take this report with a dollop of salt, especially because the earliest leaks to the media have the greatest likelihood of involving some factual errors.

However, Zynga recently resubmitted its IPO registration with the Securities and Exchanges Commission.

And the way the company announced ten new products October 11 now looks a lot like a strategy for getting the word out before a quiet period kicks in — as if Zynga were bookmarking some future releases.

It also makes sense to do the offering relatively quickly. Since the capital markets have shown some turbulence that had led Zynga to withdraw a prior plan to go public, no one can predict how long the latest stock rally will last.

And like Reuters points out, Zynga’s timing would mean the IPO roadshow would occur right after Groupon’s public offering.

If that deal does well, it could make for a better pitch when the game developer talks to prospective investors.

Zynga first registered with the SEC in July, and has since updated its registration several times.

The most recent update, according to our sibling blog, Inside Social Games, included a valuation of the Zynga’s outstanding equity at $14.05 billion in August, up from $13.98 billion in May.

Despite all of the updates given to the SEC, many have speculated that Zynga might postpone a public offering until 2012.

Certainly, if the market started moving down again, all bets would be off for an IPO this November. That might not rule out this year, since stocks historically tend to rally in December.

A three-month plateau in Facebook’s stock price has ended, as the latest auction on SharesPost closed at $33 per share, down almost six percent from the $35 close of the prior three transactions.
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Interpublic Group sold about half of its stake in Facebook for $133 million to an undisclosed buyer.
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