Facebook's IPO one of the world's largest

Facebook's stock is set to begin trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Friday, the day after the world's definitive online social network raised $16 billion in an initial public offering that valued the company at $104 billion.

That's more than Amazon.com and other well-known companies such as Kraft, Walt Disney and McDonald's.u00a0It's a big windfall for a company that began eight years ago with no way to make money. Facebook priced its IPO at $38 per share on Thursday, and opened at $42 per share on Friday.

Zuckenomics: A sign welcoming Facebook flashed outside the NASDAQ at Times Square in New York. CEO Mark Zuckerberg ringing the Nasdaq Stock Market opening bell yesterday morning

Now, regular investors will have a chance to buy stock in Facebook for the first time. The stock will trade under ticker symbol will be FB.

Facebook Inc's valuation is the third-highest in an IPO, according to Dealogic, a provider of financial data. Only two Chinese banks, Agricultural Bank of China in 2010 and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in 2006, have been worth more.

They were worth $133 billion and $132 billion, respectively. The $38 share price is the price at which the investment banks arranging the offering will sell the stock to their clients.