IREN Ltd (IREN (IREN)) stock is having a rough Thursday, down about 9% in afternoon trading. The drop isn't coming from a single source—it's a perfect storm of a tech sector selloff, backlash over executive pay, and a new competitive threat from Meta.

Let's start with the macro picture. The technology sector is getting hammered today, with the Nasdaq down 1.53% and the S&P 500 off 0.46%. Technology is the weakest sector, losing 2.5%. High-valuation AI infrastructure names like IREN, which carries a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.30, are taking the brunt of the profit-taking.

The $800 Million Compensation Question

But the company-specific news isn't helping. Short-seller Jim Chanos has been vocal about a compensation package approved by IREN's board on July 1. The board granted over 18 million restricted stock units (RSUs) to co-CEOs William Roberts and Daniel Roberts. The award is valued at $800 million and represents roughly 17% of the company's estimated cumulative adjusted net income of $4.7 billion over the grant term, which runs from fiscal year 2027 through fiscal year 2030. Chanos pointed out that the final tranches don't unlock until the company's 2033 fiscal year.

Meta's Cloud Ambitions

Adding to the pressure, a July 1 Bloomberg report revealed that Meta Platforms Inc. (Meta (META)) is planning to build a cloud business to sell excess AI compute. The internal initiative, called Meta Compute, would sell access to raw computing capacity. For independent providers like IREN, this is a direct threat—it could erode pricing power and intensify competition in the neocloud space.

Leadership Moves

On a more positive note, IREN announced the appointment of Eric Hammersley as Chief Information Security Officer on Wednesday. He joins recent hires Kambiz Aghili (Chief Product Officer) and Michael Nudelman (Chief Development Officer). Co-CEO Daniel Roberts said, "Eric's experience securing cloud platforms at scale will be invaluable."

Technical Damage

The chart tells a sobering story. IREN is trading 24% below its 20-day simple moving average (SMA), 35% below its 50-day SMA, and about 30% below its 200-day SMA. That means rallies have been failing, and sellers have controlled the intermediate trend. Even though the stock saw a golden cross in May (the 50-day SMA crossed above the 200-day SMA), the price is now well below both, which often signals that the longer-term uptrend is under stress.

IREN Price Action: IREN shares were down 7.01% at $35.59 at the time of publication on Thursday.