Continue reading JockStocks: How to fix ESPN

JockStocks: How to fix ESPN originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The market takes an upward turn, and the insiders head for the exits.

In the wake of the largest stock market rally in 71 years, according to Bloomberg, the sale of insider shares has reached its most aggressive levels in the past two years. Insiders of companies in the S&P 500 were net sellers for 14 weeks in a row. Six people at Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN), for example, sold $8.2 million in company stock.

Continue reading Inside out: Those closest to companies are selling

Inside out: Those closest to companies are selling originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Wachovia (WB) insider buys $11 million of stock

Wachovia (WB) insider buys $11 million of stock originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When the CEO of one of the most-watched companies on the planet accelerates his stock sales, people pay attention.

This is what is happening with Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt, who has sold $1.4 billion worth of stock in under three years with the search king. According to the San Jose Mercury News, "Between Wednesday and Friday, Schmidt filed a series of Form 4s disclosing that he sold 105,739 shares at prices ranging from $563.40 to $571.50 per share to collect $59,968,220."

Is this part of his normally scheduled portfolio divesting strategy, or is Schmidt cashing out before Google shares come crashing down? Although Schmidt, like many execs, sells shares on a scheduled filed with the SEC, we can't judge the guy for Google shares being near the $600 level at this point, right? Although Google shares may come crashing down to reasonable levels at some point, they do stand at over $582 today, within shouting distance of the ill-famed $600 price point. Is Google really worth that much? That question has been bandied about many times recently over the last year, and here we are.

When Schmidt signed on to lead the rag-tag Google team with founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, he probably had no idea what would transpire. However, the behemoth now controls access to so much information it would boggle the average mind. In a world of instant gratification, Google serves up a tasty dish of information billions of times per day around the world, satisfying the needs of business, government and consumers alike.

For that kind of exponential growth in such a short time, perhaps Schmidt's leadership is worth the billion-plus in stock he's sold since 2005. Is he worth it? You decide.

Google's (GOOG) CEO unloads even more stock originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Insider buying at Orbitz (OWW) a good sign for the industry originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 21 Aug 2007 12:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With multi-billion dollar buyout deals booming, it's hard to keep a secret. There are a lot of players involved: investment bankers, attorneys, consultants and so on.

For example, several months ago, a friend of mine -- who is the CFO of a software company -- told me that International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) was going to buy FileNet. Interestingly enough, the stock price was surging. And, yes, several weeks later IBM did announce a deal to buy the company.

Over the past year or so, it seems that there have been many leaks on big deals. Perhaps people forgot about the insider trading scandals during the M&A boom of the 1980s?

Well, according to a story by Reuters, there was some unusual trading in the stock options of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:HET) before its $15 billion leveraged buyout was announced.

The article quoted Paul Foster, who is part of the site theflyonthewall.com, as well as Jon Najarian, who manages insideoptions.com.

Maybe the trading activity is an example of smart investors making a savvy bet?

Continue reading Did investors get insider info on the Harrah's deal?

Did investors get insider info on the Harrah's deal? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Oct 2006 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple won't contest ruling in "Asteroid" case originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Jul 2006 12:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Insider Blogging looks at the employees blogs of our favorite companies, exposing the last legal way to get "inside information." And Jason Calacanis, my boss and one of the subjects of today's look inside, loves this feature!

We've quoted Mini-Microsoft, famous for his anonymous look behind the silicon curtain, but it seems that this time will be one of our last (until, Robert Scoble-like, he rises from anonymity and keeps his criticisms to the immaterial). He didn't say we were the reason he stopped blogging -- actually, it's his wife, who he never told about the secretive blog (so she would avoid the stress), or maybe his too-honest talk with Seattle Times reporter Danny Westneat (Mini was "weary," said Danny, and Mini realized: it's true!).

But wait! He's not totally stopped blogging. We're just going to see a mini-Mini-Microsoft from now on. I truly have no idea what that means.

Maybe it was encouragement from Jason Calacanis, the insider blogger who dares to (a) speak his name and (b) criticize his own company. Earlier this week he took AOL Search to task, offering some criticism for "too many ads and too much collateral" that fills the screen. AOL should love its users more than Google, Yahoo! and MSN, he says, but only including one ad before the search results. Jim Kukral gives him some "credit" for his analysis and finally tells him: "good advice."

So which is more valuable: employees who are too stressed to blog critically in secret, or those who boldly take their brethren to task in a web site that bears their own last name? I won't opine, but I will point out that Microsoft was down 50 cents today, to $22.65 (flirting again with a several-year low), whereas Time Warner was down just a penny to $17.21 (comfortably in the middle of its 52-week range).

Insider blogging: Microsoft blogger won't, but AOL blogger will originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 May 2006 20:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.