On Thursday, BuzzFeed's first week on the stock market got worse and worse, when its stock value shrank by nearly a quarter.

Its stock price fell by 23.6% to close at $5.87. At this price, it is now 31% lower than the closing price when it debuted as a public company on Monday.

BuzzFeed is known for its fascinating list and traditional news. It went public through a merger with a shell company called a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). This is a way to enter the stock market. It was popular earlier this year, but Since then, it has lost the favor of investors.

After many investors in SPAC requested refunds, BuzzFeed's funds raised from the merger were much lower than expected. The leadership of BuzzFeed had hoped that going public would make it easier for it to acquire other digital media companies. However, it will be much more difficult to do so after its underfunding and the continued downturn in its stock price.

Based on current stock prices, BuzzFeed, which acquired HuffPost last year, has a market value of $775 million.

BuzzFeed's tough first week will chill the boards of other digital media companies that have been hoping to go public or raise new funds.

The speed and depth of the decline in BuzzFeed stock may be partly due to the small number of stocks available for trading. Pushing down the stock price may not require much selling; on the contrary, a small purchase will make it higher.

BuzzFeed seems to have enough cash on hand to fund its business. It recently raised $150 million through the sale of debt securities. In the nine months to the end of September, it lost US$16 million, a slight improvement from the loss of US$21 million in the same period in 2020.