Facebook rises a third day

Facebook shares rose for a third day, paring declines since its May 17 initial public offering, as new advertising services at the largest social network reassured investors it is focused on boosting revenue.

Shares of the Menlo Park, Calif.-based company climbed 4.7 percent to $31.41. The shares have risen 15 percent since June 13, paring the decline since the IPO to 17 percent. The stock traded as low as $25.52 on June 6.

Facebook said yesterday it is working on a location-based mobile advertising product that will let companies target users with real-time data showing their whereabouts.

Facebook also agreed to purchase Face.com, a photo-recognition company that already has partnered with the social network.

Face.com’s technology helps Facebook users tag and identify others in their photos, a key aspect for Facebook’s success. Facebook earlier this year doubled down on its photo abilities with its $1-billion planned purchase of Instagram, a photo-sharing site many saw as competitive to Facebook’s own photo dominance on social-networking sites.

Separately, billionaire investor and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban sold his stake in the social network, less than a month after disclosing he had built a position in the company following its bungled IPO.

Late last month, Cuban disclosed that he had snatched up 150,000 shares of Facebook in three separate purchases. He said he bought 50,000 shares at $33, another 50,000 at $31.97 and 50,000 at $32.50.

At the time, Cuban described the move as “a trade, not an investment” and compared it to trading baseball cards.