This month, MicroStrategy (MSTR) Director Carl Rickertsen sold all of his shares for a little over $10 million.
Rickertsen hasn’t made any purchases of MSTR this year that met Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting requirements, and he has traded in only one, decidedly bearish direction.
He has, however, bought MSTR stock in previous years. Indeed, in 2022, he invested $700,000 in the company.
According to legendary stock analyst Peter Lynch, “Insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.” And since 2022, the price of MSTR has clearly risen.
Rickertsen bought $608,000 of MSTR on June 13, 2022. As of today, MSTR has rallied 152% from his $152-per-share purchase.
Ever the opportunist, however, Rickertsen didn’t wait until today to sell that purchase. Indeed, he sold half of his 4,000-share position in 2023.
Rickertsen hasn’t made any MSTR purchases this year that met SEC reporting requirements.
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Director Carl Rickertsen is a MicroStrategy seller
In the years since, Rickertsen has immediately exercised his stock option awards — often selling MSTR on the same day he receives it for his work as a director.
For example, on June 2, he acquired and sold 26,390 shares on the same day.
Rickertsen has been a director at MicroStrategy since 2019 and last reported zero vested shares of MSTR on June 5 this year.
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His recent insider sales, including the immediate exercise of stock options and same-day sales, prove that he is aggressively managing his personal holdings.
Fortunately for Rickertsen but unfortunately for common shareholders, the list of SEC Form 4 insider transactions is overwhelmingly one-sided. Year to date, 26 insider sales have occurred, and no one has bought anything.
Over the past five years, total sales by insiders have exceeded total purchases by $864 million.
