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To: Petz who wrote (2906)	12/15/1997 9:12:00 PM
From: Maverick	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6843

AMD technology chief's stock sale does not bode well SILICON STREET Mercury News Tech Stocks Columnist IT looks like S. Atiq Raza may be the next top executive to jump ship from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE, AMD). At least that's one conclusion that could be drawn from the rapid sale of nearly his entire stake in the semiconductor maker's stock. And even if Raza -- AMD's chief technology officer and a member of the board of directors -- isn't leaving, his recent sale of stock worth more than $18 million is a bad sign for investors. That's because he's left with barely any financial stake in the company. What's more, he sold on the way down as AMD's share price drooped from more than $31 in early October to $26.14 when Raza made his last sale two weeks later to Thursday's close of $18.69. The facts suggest at least that Raza, who declined to comment, doesn't have much faith in his employer. Raza, 48, joined AMD when the Sunnyvale-based company bought Nexgen Inc., where he was CEO. Nexgen developed the technology that became AMD's K6 microprocessor, the chip that was supposed to take on Intel Corp.'s (Nasdaq, INTC) Pentium II. But AMD has stumbled by not being able to manufacture K6s in sufficient quantity. That's disappointed financial analysts who had expected the chip to restore AMD to its challenger status to Intel. ''Things look more bleak now than before,'' said Ashok Kumar, the chip analyst for Austin investment bank Loewenbaum & Co. Because of slackening computer demand in Asia and looming Pentium II price cuts, AMD ''missed a window of opportunity that may never re-appear.'' Last month, Raza's Nexgen colleague, senior vice president Vinod Dham, 47, abruptly resigned his position amid speculation he was the designated scapegoat for the K6's problems. At the time, Raza, who recruited Dham to Nexgen from Intel, said he ''was surprised that (Dham) left when he did.''

To: Petz who wrote (2906)	12/15/1997 9:13:00 PM
From: Maverick	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6843

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.