Facebook Insider Thiel Sells 20.1 Million Shares

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August 20, 2012 04:24 PM

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Peter Thiel, one of Facebook’s earliest investors, sold most of the 27.9 million shares he still held in Menlo Park, California-based Facebook after selling a 16 million-share stake during the IPO, filings show.

An early Facebook investor has taken advantage of "unlocked" shares for insiders and sold more than 20 million shares of the social media giant, a report says.

Peter Thiel, also a director at Facebook, sold most of his stake in the company, Bloomberg reports.

The hedge fund manager and venture capitalist sold about 20.1 million of his 27.9 million shares on Aug. 16 and Aug. 17, according to Bloomberg, which cited a filing with the SEC.

Facebook stock went public with a mid-May IPO. It started out at $38 per share but has lost value since.

Its closing price after Monday's trading was $19.05 -- 49.9% lower than the IPO price but up 5% for the day.

Last week was the first time that early investors and insiders were allowed to sell their shares, as a "lock-up" period associated with new stock expired.

USA Today