let's just say that Insider Selling is NOT a positive sign and most often times a negative indicator
Context is everything. If Ejabat sold a large portion of his holdings, it would mean one thing. That he and several others sold from 15,000 to 50,000 or so shares means something else (Dahl being the exception, but even he sold just 20% of his stake). If you believe Ejabat, Sanford, Smith and Deshande saw a serious downturn in ASND coming, you also have to believe that, with knowledge of that downturn coming, they would only sell off but relatively small numbers of shares. And what about the insiders who sold nothing at all? (There are persons listed on the Proxy statement who have unregistered shares yet who made no insider sales.)
Furthermore, these insiders sold at the same time that employee stock options were repriced (and they take time before they vest, as is the norm). If you think insiders were dumping because they believed ASND would soon tank, you also have to believe that these insiders intentionally repriced employee stock options at a price above what they perceived to be the bottom.
What makes more sense to me is that the insiders sold for liquidity, JUST AS THEY DID BEFORE THE CSCC MERGER.
It also makes more sense to me that insiders did not see Hong Kong coming, else they would have sold more.
I've a call in to ASND investor relations, by the way, to see if insiders really could not sell until October. I know there were 2 minor insider sales, 1 in late July and 1 in August. Theoretically, insiders should have been able to sell after the 8-k was filed in July (as 2 did).
Gary Korn |
