Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) VP David B. Fischer unloaded 36,000 shares of his company in a transaction on Thursday. He sold the shares at an average price of $65.58 for a total of around $2.4 million. After selling, Fischer now directly holds 399,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26.2 million, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other insider selling this week
Another executive, VP Colin Stretch, sold off 5,000 shares of the company on the open market in a transaction on Tuesday. He sold the stock at an average price of $65 for a total value of $325,000. Stretch now directly owns 58,328 shares in the company, which are valued at approximately $3.8 million.
Shares of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) surged in pre-market trading on Thursday following the news that the social network is enhancing its capabilities in targeting advertising by gathering data from the other websites its users visit. With the development, Facebook will be now able to track people’s search histories and the amount of time they spend on e-commerce websites.
Facebook a Buy
Zacks analysts maintained Neutral rating on Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) in a research note on May 28, 2014 and assigned a price target of $67. Evercore Partners analysts upgraded the social network from an Equal Weight to an Overweight rating in a research note to investors on May 22, 2014, assigning the stock a price target of $75, up from $69. Finally, analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald maintained a Buy rating on the stock in a research note on May 20, 2014. Overall, Facebook has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $73.89.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23. The company reported 34 cents in earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of 24 cents and also the 12 cents per share recorded in the same quarter last year. The company posted revenue of $2.5 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. On average, analysts predict that Facebook will post $1.43 in earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
On Thursday, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) shares closed down 2.27% at $64.29.
