Hank: re: insider sales
This topic always seems to bring up interesting discussions.
Insider selling CAN indicate a not-so-bright future for the company, with the assumption being that those who know the future prospects for the company sell stock at current price levels prior to an expected (or feared) price erosion.
Or, insider selling CAN indicate that the insider has reached his desired Return On Investment, and needs to diversify his holdings to reduce his risk.
Or, insider selling CAN be the only way the seller can meet requirements of personal situations that cash would cure.
On the surface, Judith Vitale's option exercise and immediate sale of 12,000 shares looks bad. But, we don't know her personal situation. I would have felt better if she had kept at least 50% of the shares she exercised to show faith in the long term prospects of the company.
On the surface, Roger Babb's sale of 25,000 shares looks bad. But, we don't know his personal situation. He only sold approximately 30% of his shares, which indicates to me that he still has enough faith in the long term prospects of the company to keep a substantial position. A skeptic would say that could be precisely what he wants us to think, and a partial sale might be used as part of his defense in a possible future class action.
Quoting from accessatlanta.com
"At Firstwave Technologies, Judith A. Vitale, vice president of finance and administration, sold 12,000 shares from Feb. 25 to 29 at between $14.06 and $20.63 each, totaling $202,079. That's after she exercised options for the same number of shares at between $2.56 and $3.25 each, totaling $12,756. Vitale now holds 10 shares worth $113 at Friday's price of $11.25 on Nasdaq.
Roger A. Babb, director, sold 25,000 shares on Feb. 29 at between $20.13 and $22.63 each, totaling $527,280. He now holds 59,360 shares, worth $667,800."
So ... why did they sell?
Yet another one of life's little mysteries.
Personally, I buy stocks with the intent of making a profit. I re-analyze my position when my profit goal has been reached. Then, I either sell or change my profit goal. Pretty simple strategy. If that's the same philosophy that Judith and Roger used for these sells, then we can chalk this up to "nice work, folks!"
Granted, there are some not-so-subtle nuances tied in to the buy/sell activity of insiders. This whole issue is just another facet of the investing game.
For now, I have no opinion on whether this should be regarded as a bad thing, or a situational anomaly. I must admit that I was surprised by it, though, and will keep a close(r) watch on future activities.
What makes it look bad is the near term price erosion after the sales. Skeptics would be yelling "Pump and dump" right about now.
Regards,
TED |
