Reddit, Inc. (NYSE: RDDT) ended Friday’s session with a sharp pullback, then traded modestly lower in extended hours as investors digested a mix of regulatory headlines and ongoing debate about how much growth is already priced into the stock.
Late after-hours check (Dec. 12): RDDT closed the regular session at $224.78, down 3.80% on the day, and was last indicated around $223.19 late in after-hours trading. [1]
RDDT after the bell: what happened on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025
Reddit shares finished the regular session at $224.78 after trading between roughly $222.85 (low) and $237.17 (high), with volume around 4.9 million shares.
After the closing bell, trading action was comparatively muted: the stock drifted lower in extended trading and was shown around $223.19 later in the evening (down roughly 0.7% from the close). [2]
The macro backdrop mattered: tech was under pressure
Friday wasn’t a gentle day for growth stocks. U.S. markets pulled back from record highs as heavyweight tech shares linked to the AI trade slid, dragging the Nasdaq down more than the S&P 500. [3]
For a high-multiple, sentiment-driven name like Reddit, broad “risk-off” swings in tech can matter almost as much as company-specific news—especially on days when the tape is dominated by rotation and rates.
The Dec. 12 headline stack for Reddit investors
1) Reddit’s Australia lawsuit: a regulatory headline with real business implications
A major headline on Dec. 12: Reddit filed a legal challenge in Australia’s High Court aimed at overturning (or exempting itself from) the country’s new under-16 social media ban, arguing the law infringes implied political communication rights and raising questions about whether Reddit meets the law’s definition of a “social media platform.” [4]
Coverage in Australia emphasized Reddit’s arguments about privacy and political expression concerns tied to broad age-verification/age-assurance approaches, and noted legal skepticism about constitutional challenges historically succeeding. [5]
Why markets care: even if Australia is not Reddit’s largest geography, age-gating rules can ripple outward in two ways:
- Compliance cost and product friction: Any system that tries to verify age at scale (even if done via estimation) can add onboarding friction—bad for conversion and growth.
- Precedent risk: Other jurisdictions watch each other. One “world-first” policy can become the prototype others tweak and copy, turning a single-country rule into an industry-wide headwind.
2) Insider selling: CAO Michelle Reynolds’ Form 4 filing
Another item investors circulated on Dec. 12: a Form 4 disclosed that Reddit’s Chief Accounting Officer, Michelle Marie Reynolds, sold a total of 11,249 shares on 12/09/2025 under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted Sept. 9, 2025. [6]
The filing shows multiple sale lots at weighted-average prices in the low-to-mid $230s, with reported ranges up to about $237 across the various executions. [7]
How to interpret it (without melodrama): 10b5-1 plan sales are often scheduled, not reactive. Still, in momentum stocks, insider selling can become a short-term sentiment drag—less because of the dollars involved and more because investors start asking, “Who’s taking chips off the table at these levels?”
3) Bull case reinforcement: institutional demand and strong recent fundamentals
Not all of the day’s coverage leaned negative. One widely circulated analysis highlighted growing institutional ownership and strong recent growth metrics, pointing to Reddit’s sharp earnings acceleration and revenue momentum in 2025. [8]
On the fundamentals, Reddit’s most recent reported quarter (Q3 2025) showed:
- Daily Active Uniques (DAUq): 116.0 million
- Revenue: $585 million (+68% YoY)
- Net income: $163 million
- Diluted EPS: $0.80 [9]
Reddit also issued Q4 2025 guidance (as of its Q3 release) for:
- Revenue: $655 million to $665 million
- Adjusted EBITDA: $275 million to $285 million [10]
That kind of growth profile is precisely why RDDT has traded like a premium “platform monetization story”—and also why pullbacks can be violent when the broader tech tape turns defensive.
Analyst forecasts: where Wall Street thinks RDDT could go next
Analyst targets for Reddit remain wide, which is typical for a relatively young public company with a still-evolving long-term margin story.
Here’s what major market-data aggregators showed around the Dec. 12 close:
- MarketWatch: average target price around $250.24, with an average rating listed as Overweight (29 ratings). [11]
- MarketBeat: average target around $230.28, with a high target of $325 and low of $75. [12]
- Benzinga: consensus target around $216.58 (26 analysts), also listing $325 as the high target (issued by Jefferies on Dec. 11, 2025). [13]
What that spread tells you: the “center of gravity” is clustered in the low-to-mid $200s, but there’s no agreement on the ceiling. Bulls see a multi-year monetization arc (ads + data + new products) that could justify much higher levels. Bears see a platform exposed to advertising cycles, regulation, and the ever-present risk that user growth slows.
Market mechanics: a quiet volatility amplifier to remember
Dec. 12 was also a listed options expiration date for RDDT (weekly options), which can sometimes exaggerate intraday swings as dealers and traders adjust hedges into the close. [14]
This doesn’t “explain” the move by itself—but it can add fuel to what is already a choppy session, especially for stocks with active retail and momentum participation.
“Before market open 13.12.2025”: an important calendar reality check
Dec. 13, 2025 is a Saturday, and U.S. stock markets are closed on weekends. The next regular-session opening bell after Friday’s close is Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 (9:30 a.m. ET). [15]
So the practical question for investors is: what could change between Friday’s close and Monday’s open? Here’s a clean checklist.
What to watch before the next opening bell (Monday, Dec. 15)
Regulatory/legal updates that can move sentiment fast
- Any follow-on reporting, government response, or court scheduling details tied to Reddit’s Australia challenge. Even small procedural updates can swing sentiment because the broader theme—age assurance, platform classification, and liability—touches every social platform. [16]
Additional filings: insiders, shareholders, or the company itself
- More insider transaction filings (Form 4s) don’t always mean “bad news,” but clusters of selling can change the narrative quickly in a high-expectation stock. The CAO’s disclosed sales are already in the market’s awareness. [17]
Fundamentals vs. valuation: the tug-of-war remains the story
- Reddit’s own Q4 outlook (revenue $655M–$665M, adjusted EBITDA $275M–$285M) sets a high bar—and the market will keep translating every product headline into a question: “Does this raise the probability of beating that bar?” [18]
The broader tech tape (and rates) still drives the day-to-day
- Friday’s selloff in AI/tech leadership knocked the broader market off highs. If that risk-off tone continues into Monday, RDDT could feel it regardless of whether Reddit-specific headlines quiet down. [19]
Price levels investors are clearly reacting to
- Friday’s $222–$225 zone mattered (the stock’s intraday low was around $222.85). If RDDT breaks below that area early next week, traders will likely talk about “support” giving way; if it holds, you’ll hear more about “dip buyers” defending the level.
Bottom line
Reddit stock ended Dec. 12 with a meaningful down day (-3.8%) and a slightly softer after-hours print, in a session shaped by a weak tech tape and fresh company headlines—especially the Australia under-16 ban legal challenge and a closely watched insider-sale filing. [20]
Going into the next regular session (Monday, Dec. 15), the setup is classic RDDT: strong recent fundamentals and upbeat forward guidance on one side, and regulatory/valuation sensitivity on the other. [21]
References
1. finance.yahoo.com, 2. finance.yahoo.com, 3. apnews.com, 4. www.reuters.com, 5. www.theguardian.com, 6. www.sec.gov, 7. www.sec.gov, 8. www.investors.com, 9. investor.redditinc.com, 10. investor.redditinc.com, 11. www.marketwatch.com, 12. www.marketbeat.com, 13. www.benzinga.com, 14. www.marketbeat.com, 15. www.fidelity.com, 16. www.reuters.com, 17. www.sec.gov, 18. investor.redditinc.com, 19. apnews.com, 20. www.reuters.com, 21. investor.redditinc.com
