The COMS part:
All four companies were caught in the downdraft yesterday when Oracle's shares plummeted 9 7/16, or 29%, to 22 15/16 after Oracle announced lower-than-expected second-quarter results after the market closed Monday.
There is no evidence to suggest that insiders knew that prices on technology shares were heading downward so sharply. But the recent trend of unremitting sales, and a relative scarcity of buying on price drops, indicate that some insiders didn't have any reason to think stock prices would improve.
In some cases, insiders are selling at lower prices than they sold just a few months ago. To those who follow insider trends, that is often a warning signal that a company's stock price isn't likely to bounce back any time soon. "Selling at successively lower prices is never a good sign," said Bob Gabele, president of CDA/Investnet, a database that follows insider buying and selling patterns.
"Basically, be wary of companies where insiders sell off the highs," said Praveen Gottipalli, chief investment officer of Symphony Asset Management, a hedge fund that uses insider data to help make investment decisions. That rule, he added, "has kept us out of trouble." .......
In addition, at 3Com, Director Casey Cowell sold 100,000 shares at $44.62 on Nov. 5. And Chairman Eric A. Benhamou on Oct. 3 sold 38,000 shares at $51.53; Mr. Benhamou had sold 60,000 shares in late June and early July at prices ranging from $45.25 to $47.56, according to the database Baseline. He also sold 80,000 shares at $51 on Sept. 25.
-excerpted from: interactive2.wsj.com!WJ12/10++++85!&time=12/10+02:12
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