Facebook expects to hit a valuation of as much as $95.9bn when it debuts on Wall Street this month, the social networking company said, as it moved into the final stages of the most hotly anticipated share sale since Google’s initial public offering eight years ago.

社交网络公司Facebook表示，本月它在华尔街进行公开发行(IPO)时，市值预计可达959亿美元。Facebook的上市进程已迈入阶段，这是自八年前谷歌(Google)上市以来市场最热切期待的新股上市。

The company also put an unusually wide price range on its shares, with a value of only $86bn at the midpoint. That is well below the $100bn widely anticipated in the markets and left some investors and analysts questioning whether Facebook’s IPO will live up to the high hopes aroused in the build-up.

Facebook设定的股票发行价区间比一般公司要宽，若按区间中点计算，该公司的估值仅为860亿美元。这个估值明显低于市场广泛预期的1000亿美元，一些投资者和分析师因此质疑，Facebook的IPO规模是否能不辜负市场在此次IPO筹备期间燃起的厚望。

“My first impression is, it sounds low,” said Kevin Landis, chief investment officer of Firsthand Funds, which already owns Facebook stock. He said the company appeared to have deliberately pitched the price range low to avoid the sticker shock investors might otherwise feel, calling the estimate “a conversation-starter” that could rise much higher.

Firsthand Funds首席投资官凯文?兰迪斯(Kevin Landis)说：“我的感觉是，这好像低了点。”Firsthand Funds目前已持有Facebook的股份。他表示，Facebook似乎有意设定了较低的价格区间，免得因定价过高把投资者吓跑。他认为这个估价只是试探性的，之后可能大幅提高。

Facebook’s share sale will cap a rise that has taken founder Mark Zuckerberg from Harvard University dorm to the top of Silicon Valley in only eight years. Based on the top end of the price range, his personal stake after the sale would still be worth $17.6bn, eclipsing Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, each of whom currently own shares worth slightly less than $17bn in the search company.

Facebook的上市标志着，其创始人马克?扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)用八年时间，完成了从哈佛大学(Harvard University)宿舍到硅谷(Silicon Valley)之巅的征程。按发行价计算，Facebook上市之后，扎克伯格个人所持股份将价值176亿美元，超越了谷歌创始人拉里?佩奇(Larry Page)和谢尔盖?布林(Sergey Brin)，后两人在这家搜索引擎公司持有的股份，价值均略低于170亿美元。

The filing comes ahead of next week’s expected start of an investor “roadshow”, putting Facebook’s shares on track to begin trading late the week after.

预计，Facebook将于下周展开面向投资者的路演，而后按部就班地在再下一周的晚些时候上市。

The price range of $28-$35 a share, which was much wider than for other recent internet IPOs but in line with Google’s first share sale, reflects the dilemma Facebook faces as it tries to build a broad Wall Street following for its stock, according to analysts.

Facebook股票的发行价区间为每股28美元至35美元，宽度大大超过近期其他互联网企业的IPO，但与谷歌的IPO相当。分析师们认为，这反映出Facebook努力为其股票招揽更多华尔街拥趸时面临的两难局面。

“You don’t want to price this too high or you might dilute some of the demand, but if you underprice it, you dilute some of the buzz,” said Jed Williams, analyst at BIA/Kelsey.

BIA/Kelsey的分析师杰德?威廉姆斯(Jed Williams)指出：“一方面不能定价过高，否则就可能削弱需求，另一方面也不能定价过低，否则就可能削弱轰动效应。”

A slowdown in Facebook’s revenue growth and jump in costs has also left Wall Street wary. The shares reached a peak of $46 in private market trading earlier this year as investors chased the price higher, though the mood has since turned more cautious.

Facebook收入增长的放缓和成本的大幅升高也引起了华尔街的警惕。由于投资者追涨，Facebook股价今年早些时候曾在私募市场交易中达到每股46美元的高点，不过在那以后投资者的情绪已变得更加审慎。

At the lower end of its price range, Facebook would be worth just under $77bn, a price that is in line with the valuation that its board put on the company last month at the time that it used cash and stock in its $1bn acquisition of photo-sharing app Instagram.

如果按发行价计算，Facebook的市值将略低于770亿美元。这个数字与上月Facebook董事会对该公司的估值相符，当时Facebook刚以10亿美元现金加股票收购了照片分享应用Instagram。