Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : 3DFX -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Karin who wrote (4501)	6/21/1998 1:20:00 AM
From: Jay Fisk	Respond to of 16960

Yet another opinion from the ADPT board regarding insider trades and options. (ADPT, like TDFX, looks like a far-sighted, near-monopolistic niche player, IMHO) _________________ Very seldom are stock option grants exercised in order to do anything but sell. Assuming options are not about to expire (and they typically have a 10+ year elgibility), there is no loss incurred by the option holder if price of stock dives. However, if holder of option exercises and stock drops, real money is lost. If stock price goes up, what has been gained by holding stock rather than option? The only situation where it makes sense to exercise an option is in order to begin holding period for long term tax treatment if the employee is planning to hold for the long run. In technology companies, this is rarely the case. The other situation where an employee is compelled to exercise option (in order to hold) is if they are departing and still want in on the stock at a premium. So I don't know where everyone here is coming off with all of this tripe about the ethics of exercising options in order to dump them right away. Oh, EXCUSE ME!! I __FORGOT__ what high principled, ethical, upstanding models of propriety contribute to this board. Fact is that there isn't a single one of you money grubbing jerks that wouldn't do what any employee holding options worth something would do -- grab em and flip em, pronto. That's what everybody does and it's a perfectly acceptable practice. The term I would use for someone who exercises and holds options for the sake of appearances is -- "stupid". In fact, anyone stupid enough to do that is not someone I want running a company I hold an interest in. So I don't have any problem at all with what these guys are doing with their options. ______________ A final thought - There's a "missing" category of insider trades, that of OPTIONS GRANTED. Looks like lopsided data without it. Anyone think we'll see $16 before $20 ? (Just a brief downdraft so I can load up!)