Report: Facebook IPO coming in May

Facebook is likely to make its long-awaited initial public offering of stock in May, potentially giving the social network a market valuation of as much as $100 billion, according to a media report.

In the most highly anticipated tech IPO since Google (GOOG) went public in 2004, Facebook is targeting its stock offering for the third week of May, reports All Things D, citing multiple sources.  

"The usual caveat on the late-May timing (even though I called 143 people on this one): This IPO planning could all change, in a New York minute, to another month," writes All Things D's Kara Swisher.

Market volatility delayed a number of IPOs last year, including Groupon (GRPN), which filed IPO documents with the Securities Exchange Commission in June but didn't go public until five months later, Swisher notes.

Many of last year's high-profile tech IPOs have been busts so far. Shares in Groupon, the daily deals site, are off about 4 percent since its November IPO. LinkedIn (LNKD), the largest website for professional social networking, is down 25 percent since going public in May 2011. Zynga (ZNGA), maker of Farmville and other popular games, has lost about 7 percent since going public in mid-December.

As we've noted before, IPOs may be fun to read about, but that's as far as most investors should ever get involved. Jumping on the latest sexy name has no part in any long-term, disciplined investing strategy, anyway.