Facebook Shares Recover After AdParlor Says Ad Data Was 'Unauthorized And Inaccurate'

Facebook Inc AAPL sold off earlier today, following a report from The Fly that said AdParlor held a conference call with CLSA and revealed some surprisingly weak Q1 Facebook ad spend. AdParlor told CLSA its ad spend on Facebook was down 18 percent quarter-over-quarter.

According to a Bloomberg report, AdParlor now says the data on Facebook ad trends was in error. AdParlor says this data was "unauthorized And inaccurate."

Facebook's stock dropped from above $112 to as low as $106.52 within a couple hour's time. Following the Bloomberg report, shares popped above the $110.22 level.

Related Link: Former Facebook Employee: Today's Stock Drop An 'Overreaction', Ad Spend Always Down QoQ In Q1

A former Facebook employee earlier downplayed the numbers in a series of tweets: "$FB is ALWAYS down QoQ when going from Q4-Q1. That is how digital advertising works. Seasonal. Q4-Q1 never pos… Q1 2015 saw -8% rev QoQ and -17% net inc QoQ. This is an overreaction by people who don't know the business… #AdParlor also doesnt touch the Rift, Gear VR, or 100% of $FB ad inventory."

Bair'ds Colin Sebastian wrote in a mid-day note, "While our Q1 checks have indicated some slowdown in March, overall we believe trends are more stable than this data point suggests."

Heading into the close, Facebook shares traded at $110.15, down 0.4 percent on the day.