Facebook board member and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen has sold nearly half of the stake he held in the giant social network. According to filings with the SEC, Andreessen sold more than 900,000 Facebook shares between Oct. 30 and Nov. 6 for an amount higher than $90 million.
Andreessen quiet on sale
Andreessen’s stock sales are part of his prearranged trading plan and follows a recent spike in Facebook shares that pushed the social network’s market value over $300 billion. A spokeswoman for both Andreessen Horowitz and Facebook declined to comment. Jackdaw Research’s chief analyst, Jan Dawson, said that until Andreessen himself gives some sort of commentary, it will be very difficult to interpret the sales.
“The fact is, Facebook stock is up over 40% in the past year and up even more significantly since the (initial public offering), so Andreessen has had a great return on his investment here already,” Dawson said.
Dawson noted that Andreessen still holds a significant stake in the company, which includes voting shares as well. The venture capitalist owns 758,000 Class A Facebook shares and nearly 380,000 Class B shares, which carry special voting rights.
In recent times, Andreessen has become one of the most vocal investors in Silicon Valley. He frequently shares opinions and defends the industry tech through his tweets. Dawson said that he does not consider it an abandonment of Facebook, but since Andreessen has always remained very vocal, therefore, it is unexpected to see him quiet about the reason behind the sale of so many shares.
Analysts bullish on Facebook
In a note on Monday, MKM Partners reaffirmed their Buy rating on Facebook with a price target of $120. On the same day, Vetr upgraded the stock from Sell to Hold with a price target of $105.47. On Friday, Needham & Company reiterated its Buy rating on the social network with a price target of $115. Argus too in a research note on Friday gave a Buy rating to the company and boosted its price objective from $115 to $130. Presently, Facebook has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $119.07.
On Tuesday, Facebook shares closed up 1.33% at $107.91. Year to date, the stock is up by over 38% while in the last one month, it is up by almost 16%.
