Facebook Inc., seeking as much as $96 billion in its initial public offering

Sahit Muja: Facebook Inc., seeking as much as $96 billion in its initial public offering next week, is overvalued at that price, according to a Bloomberg investor poll.

Underscoring concerns that growth may taper for the world's biggest social network, 79 percent of respondents in the Bloomberg Global Poll of 1,253 investors, analysts and traders who are Bloomberg subscribers said Facebook doesn't deserve a valuation so high.

While Facebook's communication and photo-sharing tools have helped it amass 900 million users, the Menlo Park, California- based company may be vulnerable to startups that can win over Web surfers with new, competing social media sites. At the high end of a projected range of $28 to $35 a share, Facebook would be valued at 99 times its earnings, a higher multiple than 99 percent of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

"It's overvalued at that price," said Filippo Garbarino, who oversees $50 million at Frontwave Capital Ltd. in Chiasso, Switzerland. "Investors are becoming more selective and there are quite a few fallen angels around, like Netflix. Those who buy Facebook at these levels are more speculators than investors."

Facebook, co-founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 in a Harvard University dorm room, seeks a valuation at 24 times revenue, compared with 5 times for Google Inc.

Sahit Muja:

President and CEO

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New York