The Float Conundrum, by my calc: 10.8 mil.
HJ, Those who control the float, control the stock price.
Hopefully for the last time, I pulled up the pre-14a at:
edgar.sec.gov
Here's the summary of ownership, leaving out the small fish:
Bezos 41%
John Doerr (VC) 12%
Kleiner Perkins (VC) 11%
Stephen Kaphon 5%
Bezos's parents 7%
rest of directors, etc: 2%
With 49.5M shares outstanding, it would seem that
the insiders control 78% of the shares, leaving
22% in the float -- 10.4 mil. shares in the float.
This wouldn't include an institution or trust that
for some reason took delivery of the stock, or some other
action that keep the shares out of the float.
Question: can shares kept in a "cash" (non-margin) account
be borrowed for the purposes of shorting. I think so, as long
as they are in "street name", but am not too sure.
Marketguide is wrong again (I think so, but at this point
am confused, and have lost interest). The fake out is there's
a line item in the form, saying that "All Executive Officers and
Directors as a Group" control 61% of the stock, and that's
the number Marketguide used. Well, if I'm reading the filing
correctly, Bezos's parents and KPC (the VC) are not counted
in that 61% figure, and together they own an additional 18%
of the stock - not a trivial amount.
It is possible that float has increased, or will increase soon
due to insider selling. However, if the float truly is down
there around 11M, it isn't too difficult to see why the 8-something
mil. in short interest had trouble finding a chair when the music
stopped. |
