stocks

Marc Andreessen sells $54.1M in Facebook stock to pay Uncle Sam

If you think your tax bill was bad, try being Marc Andreessen.

The venture capitalist and Facebook board member disclosed today in an SEC filing that he sold more than 2.3 million shares of Facebook at prices ranging from $22.85 to $23.83 per share. All told, the sales added up to more than $54.1 million.

The selling is not a reflection of his belief in Facebook, however. Rather, he's using the money to pay taxes that he owes from his restricted stock units, which were recently converted into actual shares. Facebook said in September that … Read more

Facebook Gifts: Important but not about the money (just yet)

When Facebook added a slew of retail partners to its Gifts product last week -- complete with a splashy party at FAO Schwartz in New York -- some observers got excited about the social network's ongoing march into e-commerce, even claiming (incorrectly, I would argue) that this helped push the stock up more than 6 percent on Friday.

Not so fast.

Facebook's decision allowing users to buy and send physical gifts is a shrewd move that could potentially grow into a $1 billion business (more on that in a moment). For now, however, the play seems less about … Read more

Apple shares bounce back after tough few weeks

Apple's stock is up nearly 6 percent in midday trading today, marking a minor recovery for the stock, which has declined more than 20 percent since reaching an all-time high in September.

Shares of Apple were at $557.99, up $30.31, or 5.74 percent, in trading on Monday, coming close to where the stock sat 12 days ago, but far from the high of $705.10 two months ago. The stock hit a nine-month low on Friday, before closing up later in the day.

The recovery comes amid reports that Apple's seeing strong sales of its … Read more

Apple hardware chief sells off $10.7M in stock

Recently-appointed Apple hardware chief Dan Riccio sold off nearly $11 million in company stock this week.

The sales, which took place yesterday and today and were detailed in a regulatory filing, included 19,726 shares, with another 1,000 that are given away as a charitable donation. All told, the value of the shares that were sold tallied up to a little more than $10.73 million.

To put things in perspective, Riccio along Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Mac Software Engineering, were given 75,000 shares of company stock as part of promotions in September, worth … Read more

Zynga's outlook doesn't look pretty -- can Pincus save it?

Zynga has been in a downward spiral the past several months. It's been hit from all sides, from plummeting share prices to Anonymous cyberattacks to a mass exodus of its top employees.

Despite CEO Mark Pincus' public positive attitude and go-getter mentality about the future of the gaming company, an article by the Wall Street Journal today reports that he may be less enthusiastic behind the scenes. According to interviews with dozens of current and former Zynga employees and investors, Pincus is apparently grappling with how to save the company.

During a September meeting between Pincus and business coach … Read more

Andreessen Horowitz holds on to Facebook shares in long-term gamble

Andreessen Horowitz, the famed venture-capital firm run by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, is not selling the Facebook shares it acquired through direct investment.

Reports surfaced yesterday saying that Andreessen Horowitz, one of the earliest and biggest investors in Facebook, was offloading some shares it directly acquired through investment in the social network following a mandatory lockup period. However, a Securities and Exchange Commission filing has revealed that only Marc Andreessen himself has personally offloaded some shares. According to TechCrunch, which was first to report on the news, a spokesperson from Andreessen's firm said that the sales will only … Read more

Apple to dole out $2.5 billion to shareholders

Apple shareholders will be cashing in tomorrow -- the day has come for the second installment of the mega-rich company's dividend program. Apple, which has 935 million outstanding shares, will distribute $2.65 per share to its shareholders -- adding up to a grand total of a $2.5 billion payout, according to Apple Insider.

This is just the second time in the last 17 years that Apple has paid some of its excesses to its shareholders. The company, which hasn't paid a regular cash dividend since 1995, has billions in cash and liquid assets and carries no … Read more

Facebook stock jumps even as more insiders able to sell

About 800 million Facebook shares became tradeable today, but for once, the bulls have something to cheer about.

In other words, the stock is jumping today even though more insiders now have the opportunity to unload their holdings. Shares closed up 13 percent at $22.36, a welcome jump for investors who have seen a steep decline since the stock started trading at $38 in May.

Today's lockup expiration meant the largest set of Facebook shares available since May could hit the market. Many had expected Facebook's shares to take a hit, but instead, it appears most investors … Read more

Facebook insiders could sell 773 million shares Wednesday

The largest set of Facebook stock shares available since May, when the company went public, could hit the market on Wednesday as the social network's employees are given the green light to sell off 773 million shares.

Wednesday marks the expiration of another "lockup" period, which means early investors and Facebook employees, including those who joined before 2011, will be able to sell off 773 million common shares, plus 31 million in restricted stock units.

The previous lockup expired at the end of October, and that fresh infusion of stock into the open market left the share … Read more