back to article Facebook co-founder Moskovitz scrambles to offload his shares

Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz has sold over 1.3 million of his shares in the social network over the last two weeks. Moskovitz converted some of his Class B shares - the kind that carry voting rights - into Class A shares and has been getting rid of stock at 150,000 shares a day since a couple of days after the first …

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  1. Thomas 18
    FAIL

    Pump and Dump ladies and gentlemen

    Pump and Dump

    1. AbortRetryFail

      Re: Pump and Dump ladies and gentlemen

      Yup. I've been saying the same from the outset.

    2. Anonymous Coward 15

      I know we're talking about shares here

      But I still daren't look up that term on Urban Dictionary.

      1. Trokair 1

        Re: I know we're talking about shares here

        I took my losses on this one. Started trading in March and fell into the hype. Lesson learned, and luckily not with that much lost.

        1. vic 4
          Thumb Up

          Re: I know we're talking about shares here

          It's good you took it on the chin and took it as learning experience.

      2. Great Bu

        Re: I know we're talking about shares here

        It's like a Cleveland Steamer only the man is on top.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Fairy Dust

      Anyone want to invest in my fairy dust company?

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    hmmmm

    "Whether Thiel's funds just wanted their money for other investments or had some other motivation"

    not sure that's such a big mystery

    1. robertsgt40

      Re: hmmmm

      No one wants to be the last rat off a sinking ship

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "some pundits had speculated that the stock was overpriced" - No. Shit.

    These pundits must be some special breed of super-genius to figure that one out.

    1. samlebon23

      Here is the proof:

      Buffett Says Social-Networking Sites Overpriced Ahead of Public Offerings

      http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-25/most-networking-site-companies-will-be-overpriced-buffett-says.html

    2. zen1

      In awe

      "... stock was overpriced" - No. Shit."

      You (sir or madame) are my hero!

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Trollface

    Find someone who's surprised,

    Then call that 'news'...

  5. JDX Gold badge

    It's dumb not to sell SOME of your stock unless you're already super-rich, regardless how the stock is doing.

  6. Scott Broukell
    Meh

    It seems to me ...

    A great(ish) idea to begin with, sucked loads of users into the vortex, but the generations that come along soon afterwards find it not so "kool" to sign up to a network that their parents are so fond of. Move along a few more generations and you reach saturation point don't you ? Maybe that was the point of the flotation, they figured that they had reached, of even gone past, that point. Now they have to milk the punters they have for all their worth. That's my impression any way. I don't even know or care how long it's been going but these things can't be ageless can they ? Thinking about it, it would be frightening if they were!

  7. Richard Jukes

    heh

    I know someone who works in IT who actually bought Facebook shares. No, really!

  8. Chris Miller

    If I had managed to make $2 billion from a single investment, I think I'd be looking to diversify at least a small percentage, rather than leaving it all on red for one more spin of the wheel.

    1. vic 4
      Thumb Up

      Re: small percentage

      I think I'd be looking to diversify the whole lot while I could still sell them.

  9. Lallabalalla
    WTF?

    "...has caused concern that they simply don't have a good opinion of the company's future anymore."

    What do you mean - "anymore" .. ?

  10. Devious_Dan

    optional & untitled

    *Cough* Friendsreunited *cough* bought for £175million by itv in 2005, in 2009 was worth £20 million, now no idea. I would give them £20 for the servers.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: optional & untitled

      Ah, come on, you can do better than that.. Murdoch and Myspace!

      Stolen from Wikipedia, fount of all things truthy:

      "Myspace was founded in 2003 and was acquired by News Corporation in July 2005 for $580 million... In June 2011, Specific Media Group and Justin Timberlake jointly purchased the company for approximately $35 million."

      You're welcome.. yes, schadenfreude cake is my favourite, too.

    2. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge
      Joke

      Re: optional & untitled

      20$ for the servers? Doesn't it cost more to dump them these days?

      1. Stoneshop
        Pint

        Re: optional & untitled

        20$ for the servers? Doesn't it cost more to dump them these days?

        The metals recycling business I take my scrap metals to accepts circuit boards and power supplies for roughly scrap-iron prices. Together with the chassis this means between 5 and 10 Euros per system; you just have to separate them into plastics (worthless, but no disposal fee), metal and circuit boards/cabling. With a bit of effort you can keep the fridge well-stocked with beverages and snacks from systems people want to get rid of.

  11. Bernard

    in isolation this is no big thing

    Selling 1/6th of your holding in a company that constitutes the majority of your wealth is just sound financial management. This isn't like Thiel's offloading of most of his holding.

    The problem is that few people now have a good opinion of the stock. I think if you didn't have so many holding on thinking it can't go down even further and planning to sell at the first hint of upturn it would be even worse.

    It turns out that eyeballs don't mean prizes. Who could have predicted it?

  12. Lord Voldemortgage

    How low

    Would the stock price have to fall before El Reg-ites would consider investing?

    Or would a fall to a realistic level mean that the company was doomed?

    1. The last doughnut
      Thumb Down

      Re: How low

      You have to be somewhat bullish to say the least to buy into stock and shares in these uncertain times. Facebook always looked like an over-hyped company. Its flotation doubly so. Indeed the only ones who will be left hanging their heads in shame is those foolish enough to stump up the cash at the height of the bubble.

      When its going down, there is almost no bottom. Residual value is very limited as its actually a pretty small operation. Its chief exec is a loose cannon who can and has spunked no less than a billion on another small company. Sooner or later they will have to dump him, or he'll leave in a huff.

      How 'cool' is that?

      [/Unlike]

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: How low

      The latter. Facebook has no feasible way to generate money in the short, medium or long term. They don't have the advertising synergy that sent Google stratospheric, and they have no other potential stream of income.

      Think about this. When you search for a big-ass TV on google, you don't mind getting adverts for big-ass TVs. In fact those advert can actually be useful, so there is a good chance of a click through, and even a sale. When you are going on facebook to update your status to having a dump, or upload some more kitten pictures, there is no advertising that has synergy. Should facebook advertise toilet rolls when you are updating your status to having a dump? There is also a timing thing. Google you enter some information which they can use to give you the product (search results) and matching advertising (advertising synergy). On facebook, often the entering of the information is that last step in the process. Everything else is done through click-throughs and browsing, from which it is really difficult to target advertising.

      1. GBE

        Re: How low

        A c'mon, once they collect enough underpants, I'm sure they'll figure out what step 2 is...

      2. vic 4

        Re: They don't have the advertising synergy

        I agree AC, at least as they currently do it. But they do have huge potential for targeting ads for what people have written about. Not far off Google displaying ads relevant to what they glean from you reading your emails. If they ditched their CE like suggested above, brought in some expertise from goolge they could turn it around a bit.

    3. vic 4
      Pint

      Re: How low

      I'd buy when the price is getting low enough for a google buyout.

  13. Anonymous Coward 15
    Happy

    But I have 52 million shares!

    What's 52 million times zero?

    <-- It's a yellow face, sort of

  14. Ant Evans
    Meh

    Playbook

    There's one born every minute. The funniest/saddest part of this story (so far anyway) is that Goldman was dealing this slurry over the counter before the IPO to all the other dads who were late to the disco.

    When the parents turn up, as has been pointed out somewhere here, the party is over, and the guy with the dope is long gone.

    Some interesting tech was done. But FB racked up some heavyweight recurring costs in the process, hiring darlings from Google, building a very nice data centre on the arctic circle, buying Instagram and Opera, and other daily essentials. In the long run (...) it has to cover those recurring costs from revenue, like a grown-up. Not from capital, like a trustafarian.

    Can it? I confess I have not checked. But who cares? The fees have been paid, the outs have been cashed, and everyone who's anyone is a winner.

    A much more interesting question is what all those zuckers will have learnt when the sell side suits next come calling.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Meh

    Nonshocking nonnews

    Owning stock is not like owning a pet; you are not obliged to keep it. Anyone who suggests otherwise should apologizing for not framing their Amazon gift cards and hanging them on the wall rather than redeeming them

    If it is insane to pay $30/share for Facebook, it is equally insane not to take that money if someone solvent offers that deal.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    More worrying?

    Who would buy them? The only way is down.

  17. Potemkine Silver badge

    The bubble is close to explode

    The biggest negative point with the in-a-close-future-moribund FB (Hurray!) is that it was able to convince people their privacy didn't matter, and that it was legitimate that someone else makes business with their private parts... euh data.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    HideurFacebook

    Seems they can't even afford shills.

    "I think facebook is overpriced rubbish!"

    nothing happens,

    see.

    1. Stoneshop
      Coat

      Wrong line

      It's "PLUGH"

      Nothing happens

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