anyone have any thoughts on this?
<<Dell Founder Sells 4 Million Shares: Insider Focus
Round Rock, Texas, Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Dell Computer Corp. founder and Chief Executive Michael Dell sold 4 million shares last month, or about 2 percent of his holdings, for $257.2 million, days before the stock reached a record.
Eight other executives and directors also sold as the shares approached their high of 69 1/4 on Sept. 29, according to the Washington Service, which tracks insider buying and selling.
Since then, shares of the biggest direct seller of personal computers have fallen 17 percent amid concern that global economic problems could crimp sales growth.
''This is unusual for what we've seen in the past. People should be a bit concerned,'' said Paul Elliott, research analyst at CDA Investnet, which tracks insider buying and selling. Dell, who also is chairman of the Round Rock, Texas-based company, has sold shares on a regular basis for the past several quarters, and still owns more than 15 percent of the company.
Dell Computer has been riding a wave of robust demand and low costs that have helped it escape fierce price cutting by rivals like top PC maker Compaq Computer Corp. Dell's sales and earnings have surged more than 50 percent for the past several quarters.
Other computer makers have suffered as excess inventory at dealers and distributors, coupled with plummeting prices ate into profits in the first half. Dell, by contrast, has virtually no inventory because it builds machines as orders come in, which means it can pass along component cost savings quickly.
Shares of Dell rose 9/16 to 57 1/4 on trading of 18.5 million shares, making them the most fourth most active in U.S. markets.
More Selling
Dell, 33, who founded the computer maker in his college dorm room at the University of Texas at Austin in 1984, still owns 200 million shares of Dell. He sold at prices ranging from $62.00 to $65.69, according to the Washington Service.
What's interesting is that so many other executives also sold shares, CDA Investnet's Elliott said. Some cut their holdings by more than half. ''Rather than just Michael Dell selling, the sales are spreading out,'' he said.
Dell told about 150 analysts at a meeting at the company's headquarters in Round Rock, Texas, on Sept. 25 that the economic crisis in Asia won't impede sales growth, helping send shares toward their high.
Dell's Asian sales rose 35 percent in the first half, even as the overall Asian PC market fell 9 percent.
Dell gets about 31 percent of its sales from overseas. Compaq and International Business Machines Corp. both get more than half of their sales from outside the U.S.
Sellers
Joseph Marengi, senior vice president, sold 17,702 shares from Sept. 8 to Sept. 29 for $58.50 to $68.13, bringing his holdings to 137,916 shares, according to the Washington Service. Michael Lambert, senior vice president of enterprise systems, sold 100,174 shares on Sept. 22 and Sept. 23 for $60.00 to $62.00.
Rosendo Parra, a vice president, sold 82,560 shares on Sept. 30 for $65.63 to $66.06, bringing his holdings to 354,706 shares. Charles Saunders, vice president and president of Dell Japan, sold 10,000 shares on Sept. 15 for $58.88 to $59.00.
James Schneider, vice president of finance, sold 150,000 shares between Sept. 23 and Sept. 28 for $62.00 to $68.38, bringing his holdings to 468,702 shares. Alex Smith, vice president and treasurer, sold 40,000 shares on Sept. 16 at $60.00. He now owns 203,684 shares.
Two directors also sold shares. Claudine Malone sold 220,800 shares from Sept. 9 to Sept. 11 for $55.06 to $60.00. She now owns 177,600 shares. Paul Hirschbiel sold 15,000 on Sept. 15 at $59.19, bringing his holdings to 186,048 shares.
Dell has sold shares twice in recent months. In May he sold 1.25 million shares and in August he sold 2.1 million shares, both before a stock split that took effect Sept. 8.
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