Facebook closes above $38 a share IPO price

Initial Facebook investors are finally in the black.

Shares of the No. 1 social networking firm Thursday rose $0.56, or 1.5%, to close at $38.05. It was the first time the stock has closed above its $38 a share offering price since the days following its initial public offering in May 2012.

Facebook came public amid great fanfare as many individual investors figured the company's connection with a billion users worldwide would quickly turn it into a money making machine. Investors awarded the company with a lofty valuation of more than $90 billion as it seemed the company's future was boundless.

But later, concerns grew that the company would face difficulty making the transition to mobile users, as it could be harder to place advertisements on smartphone screens. But after the company reported sharply higher quarterly profit as week, topping expectations largely on better-than-expected performance in mobile advertising, the negative pall on the stock eased.

Facebook's comeback this year has been breathtaking. Not only is the stock up 43%, but with its market value of $92 billion, it ranks as one of the most valuable U.S. companies behind McDonald's at $99 billion and ahead of United Parcel Service at $83 billion.