High Profile Insider Sales At Facebook (NASD: FB)

Early last summer, the thought of a rally in Facebook (NASD: FB) stock seemed far-fetched. The stock price had famously fallen (quickly), and investors were starting to speculate if the company could ever produce the profits necessary to be a darling to investors, and not just be a neat product offered to consumers for free. Well, it seems that the tide has changed quickly for the firm, and they are quickly becoming attractive.

Up more than 100% over the past twelve months, shares have finally eclipsed the IPO price of $38. Given the company’s mobile dominance and revitalized growth, a rise is certainly justified.

Facebook is inching closer to reaching its all-time high of $45 that the stock hit on May 18, 2012. After reporting second quarter earnings that blew analyst expectations out of the water last month, the stock has climbed 45 percent. Yesterday, it closed at $41.34 after reaching $41.94 during the day’s trading. Investors will be watching the stock closely today to see if it can reach or surpass $45.

Two of Facebook’s highest-ranking officers, including chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, have made large sales of their stock in recent weeks as the company’s shares have recovered to their IPO price — and even crossed the $40 mark for the first time since the controversial debut. Sandberg and chief financial officer David Ebersman make their sales through what’s called 10b5-1 plans, which allow executives to sell off chunks of stocks over a specified period of time. These plans are designed to help executives avoid the appearance of timing their sales to the ups and downs of the stock price — or to events like earnings and forecasts that can effect the stock’s price. Still, the recent sales have raised some eyebrows — given their size and the fact that the stock has surged of late. Facebook’s shares shed more than 4% to close at $39.64 on Tuesday following the disclosure of the latest sales.

For Sandberg, the recent sale was a return to her normal pattern after deviating earlier this month with a sale of 2.37 million shares — worth more than $91 million at the stock’s price on Aug. 7. She’s been selling the same identical block of shares twice per month for most of the year, save for the Aug. 7 sale. Ebersman has been selling blocks of 23,400 shares at similar intervals, so his recent sale of 200,00 shares and another sale of 223,400 shares on Aug. 2 also stand out.

Facebook declined to comment on the sales made by its executives, beyond noting that the transactions are all done under the pre-approved 10b5-1 plans.