Robbie Bach Exits Stock While Xbox News Drops
Xbox executive Robbie Bach suspiciously sells stock prior to the Xbox warranty-extension announcement.
Microsoft's President of Entertainment & Devices Division Robbie Bach, the man overseeing the Xbox and Zune projects, reported in a series of Securities and Exchange Commission filings that he had sold $6.2 million worth of Microsoft shares over the course of one month prior to the announcement that Microsoft would be extending [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/74493-Xbox-360-Repairs-to-Cost-Microsoft-One-Billion-Dollars] the warranties on all Xbox 360 consoles to three years to the tune of $1 billion. The selling began May 2 and proceeded until May 30, a few weeks before Bach and company made the July 5th announcement on a corporate conference call. Although executive stock options are locked and scheduled as to when and how much one can cash out at a time, Bach had not released a single share in the previous eight months and did not face such restrictions. Whether or not these movements are considered insider trading, Bach would not of lost much on the $.50 drop that Microsoft's share price took on the day of the conference call.
Microsoft spokesman Eric Hollreiser replied, "Robbie Bach's past trading is completely unrelated to last week's announcement. ... [He] continues to hold a significant stake in Microsoft and remains confident in the long-term success of the company."
Ben Silverman, director of research at Indie Research, a firm that tracks insider selling, gives Bach the benefit of the doubt. "It doesn't necessarily mean [insiders] think that there will be a bad event; it could just be financial planning. But sometimes it just looks bad that an insider has sold stock. I'd give [Bach] the benefit of the doubt here, especially because the stock didn't move very much."
Source: MarketWatch [http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/microsofts-xbox-exec-sold-stock/story.aspx?guid=%7B5D32C38B%2D6B24%2D4650%2DB9EA%2D235C19486C38%7D]
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Xbox executive Robbie Bach suspiciously sells stock prior to the Xbox warranty-extension announcement.
Microsoft's President of Entertainment & Devices Division Robbie Bach, the man overseeing the Xbox and Zune projects, reported in a series of Securities and Exchange Commission filings that he had sold $6.2 million worth of Microsoft shares over the course of one month prior to the announcement that Microsoft would be extending [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/74493-Xbox-360-Repairs-to-Cost-Microsoft-One-Billion-Dollars] the warranties on all Xbox 360 consoles to three years to the tune of $1 billion. The selling began May 2 and proceeded until May 30, a few weeks before Bach and company made the July 5th announcement on a corporate conference call. Although executive stock options are locked and scheduled as to when and how much one can cash out at a time, Bach had not released a single share in the previous eight months and did not face such restrictions. Whether or not these movements are considered insider trading, Bach would not of lost much on the $.50 drop that Microsoft's share price took on the day of the conference call.
Microsoft spokesman Eric Hollreiser replied, "Robbie Bach's past trading is completely unrelated to last week's announcement. ... [He] continues to hold a significant stake in Microsoft and remains confident in the long-term success of the company."
Ben Silverman, director of research at Indie Research, a firm that tracks insider selling, gives Bach the benefit of the doubt. "It doesn't necessarily mean [insiders] think that there will be a bad event; it could just be financial planning. But sometimes it just looks bad that an insider has sold stock. I'd give [Bach] the benefit of the doubt here, especially because the stock didn't move very much."
Source: MarketWatch [http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/microsofts-xbox-exec-sold-stock/story.aspx?guid=%7B5D32C38B%2D6B24%2D4650%2DB9EA%2D235C19486C38%7D]
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