The Wall Street Journal reports that Fidelity [profile] PMs have already started shrinking their stakes in Facebook.

The Journal reports that 22 Fidelity funds sold more than 1.9 million total shares in June, 16 of them selling more than a quarter of their holdings.

These trades "represent an about-face for Fidelity," writes WSJ reporter Joe Light. Fidelity was one of the first institutional investors to take a substantial stake in Facebook, its PMs having invested over $200 million in the social-media company's private offering last year.

The story quotes John Bonnanzio of Fidelity Insight, a newsletter that tracks the firm's trades. "Fidelity managers are known to like to buy things in order to kick the tires and ask questions," he said. "It seems they ultimately decided that they don't like what they see."

Fidelity wasn't the only firm to reduce its stake in Facebook. Shortly after the IPO, Turner Investment Partners' Large Growth fund sold off 28 percent of its shares, and OppenheimerFunds' Global Allocation Fund sold about 10,000 shares, or 10 percent of its stake. 

Edited by: Chris Cumming


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