Blackstone Faces More Red

The bloom is off the rose for

Blackstone Group

(BX) - Get Report

, the first publicly listed private-equity firm.

The investment firm, which priced its $4.1 billion initial public offering last Thursday evening at $31 and saw a 13% pop of its so-called partnership units following its first day of trading, is facing another red day on Wall Street.

After losing 7.5% Monday, Blackstone has dipped below where it was priced by its roster of underwriters. The stock is off by around $1.86, or roughly 5.7%, in late afternoon trading to $30.58.

What gives?

Former investment banker and IPO expert, John Fitzgibbons at IPOScoop.com, says many of the factors weighing down the much-hyped stock have to do with investors attempting to assess how much value to place on the company itself and how much proposals coming from Congress will undercut its long-term performance.

"The trading money is gone and now investors are shifting their attention from the stock to the company," Fitzgibbons comments.

Among a number of issues concerning investors in private equity, Congress has issued a series of bills to juice federal revenue by taxing alternative investment shops more heavily. The Senate Finance Committee is considering a bill that would increase the tax rate for those entities.

Adding to Blackstone's woes is a report from

Barron's

which wonders if the public offering of the private-equity shop run by CEO Stephen Schwarzman signaled a top.

Before it went public, Blackstone was a hot topic on Wall Street and Main Street. The investment and advisory firm's underwriters, including leader

Morgan Stanley

(MS) - Get Report

, were believed to have received sufficient demand to place more than 800 million shares on its opening day of trading.

The stock reached as high as $38 on Friday trading, but it's been downhill ever since.

"It took an awful lot of buying to get a $4 billion deal out the door," Fitzgibbons says. "The circus has left town, so what's to hype the stock now?"