He couldn't have been too surprised, however. Turns out the two were exercising
options and selling massive amounts of stock virtually in tandem between Oct. 10
and Oct. 24 at prices between $31.13 and $26.14, according to CDA Investnet in
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Dham resigned nearly three weeks later.
In all, Dham sold 228,381 shares worth $6.9 million. Raza collected more than $18
million, selling 632,965 shares and leaving him with 24,221. Both executives
exercised options before some of the sales, making their net gains somewhat
smaller than the dollar-value of the trades.
Dham, who has left AMD, said he sold his stock for personal reasons, including a
desire to diversify his portfolio. He calls the chatter that he fell out with AMD
Chairman W.M. Sanders III over the K6's problems ''completely untrue,'' noting
that his responsibilities were developing the chip and lining up customers, not
manufacturing.
A spokesman for the company said Raza had no comment and noted that AMD has
a policy of not discussing insider transactions because ''the trades that executives
make, even though they're made public, are made for personal reasons.'' He added
that Raza ''is a member of the board. He is an executive vice president. As far as I
know, Atiq is completely committed to the company.''
Executives have all sorts of reasons for selling, of course, including estate planning,
tax commitments and other investment opportunities. What's most reassuring to
investors, however, is a pattern of consistent, relatively small sales no matter the
price -- not large-scale housecleaning as prices are falling. |
