Jim Rogers, CEO and chairman of Rogers Holdings, said he would not buy Facebook as a stock because it would be too expensive.
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International investor Jim Rogers
“No, that kind of stock I don’t buy. They are usually very, very expensive. A lot of people like to buy expensive stocks like that, but I do not,” said Rogers, a widely followed investor who has published several books on investing, co-founded the Quantum Fund with George Soros, and more recently is the creator of the Rogers Global Resources Equity Index.
Reports suggest Facebook could file its papers for an initial public offering on Wednesday, one that could be the largest Internet offering ever, with the social media giant hoping to raise upwards of $10 billion. Such an IPO would value the company at more than $100 billion.
Rogers told CNBC that the timing of an IPO this week would be a smart move by Facebook.
“It’s been demonstrated many, many times before that sellers are usually smarter than the buyers, and they usually know when the best time to sell is, and Facebook is doing it,” he said.
However, he said he would be interested in broader technology stocks, but is currently short the sector.
“I am interested in technology in some shape or form, but I can’t imagine buying any of them. They are a bit hot these days and they have been for two or three months, so that’s why I am short. I don’t buy high-priced stocks,” Rogers said.
US Public ‘Saps’
Turning to the broader US economy, Rogers said the United States looks and feels better because the government is throwing money at it.
“There is an election in November 2012. Every time there is an election, the government pumps as much money as it can so it can to win the election. Of course things are going to look and feel better because Bernanke is printing money and Obama is spending money,” Rogers said.
He added that the US public are essentially “saps,” being fooled by a government eager to harness as many votes as possible in an election year.
“They want to fool all of us saps and get us through the elections, and then they’ll say we’ll worry about those saps next year,” he said.