MicroStrategy (MSTR) insiders have sold $40 million worth of stock over the last 90 days. Averaging more than one sale per business day over the last three months, insiders’ selling transactions outnumber their purchases 10 to one.
Their sales have also been larger than any purchases, with about $40.3 million in sales versus $2.3 million in purchases per data from InsiderScreener.
Sales of stock worth millions of dollars originated from decisions by the company’s vice president, chief financial officer, and director, among others. Many of their liquidations took advantage of MSTR at far higher prices than today.
Indeed, insiders sold more than a dozen times above $400 per share.
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Insiders at MicroStrategy are selling
Accountants marked some transactions with a planned sale code on Securities and Exchange Commission Form 4, indicating that these insiders were dumping shares programmatically through the stock options, directed share programs, or other types of installment-based compensation packages.
Still other transactions were coded as simple sales — several of which coincided with a rally last month that briefly sustained MSTR above $400.
Chart of MicroStrategy stock sales by company directors (InsiderScreener).
Still, these insider sales only represent a small percentage of overall executive and director ownership. For example, Founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor still owns about 19.6 million shares of Class B stock as well as 382,000 Class A shares, worth billions.
Overall, Bloomberg estimates that he owns 8% of MicroStrategy’s equity.
Saylor also told Bloomberg that he owns at least 17,732 bitcoins personally. Analysts estimate his total net worth to be north of $8 billion.
Although insider sales at MicroStrategy are frequent, they’re not particularly unusual for public companies. Indeed, every day, dozens of officers at public companies are selling shares — most of which they receive through pre-planned compensation packages.
For insiders, the decision of whether to sell their newly vested shares on schedule or voluntarily waive their right often comes down to an assessment of their personal situation or familial obligations that have nothing to do with their outlook on the company’s stock itself.
