Google Insiders Bail Prior to Stock Plunge

There is nothing like inside information, provided you are on the inside. But heaven forbid should you be on the outside and act on a tip as did Martha Stewart.

Insider Monkey reports Google Inc. (GOOG): Insiders Sold $280M Prior to Crash

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) chairman Eric Schmidt was very active in late September, as he executed 226 transactions in just three days from Sept. 24 to 26, selling off more than 211,000 shares at per-share prices between $742 and $764 per share. He came away with about $158 million.

Other noteworthy insiders are Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) CEO Larry Page and co-founder Sergey Brin, who had conducted several insider sales in the first half of this month, totaling about $120 million in value and the pair spared themselves about $12 million in combined losses. Brin conducted a series of transactions Tuesday, October 2, selling 83,334 shares at between $750-$765 a share, with a combined value of at least $62.5 million.

Page had been selling shares regularly over several days. Starting October 8, he sold 20,833 shares at $754-$762 a share for a value of $15.7 million; 20833 shares at $744-$760 October 9, for a value of $15.5 million; 20,833 shares at prices between $741 and $746 per share October 10, for a value of $15.4 million; and 20,835 shares at prices between $752 and $758 October 11, a value of $15.7 million.

Also in October, Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) board member John Doerr sold his 6,000-share holding at between $759 and $762 per share, for a total value of about $4.5 million, and senior vice president David Drummond pared off 568 shares at $759 each for a value of about $430,000.

Notable Sergey Brin Transactions

It's one thing to sell a few shares routinely, it's another thing to dump a load right before the plunge.

Here is an edited screen shot of some Google transactions of co-founder Sergey Brin.



Congratulations to Board Member Doerr

Congratulations to board member John Doerr who according to Yahoo!Finance Inside Sales acquired 12,285 shares on September 3 for the bargain basement price of $0, and sold every one of them on the same day, netting a cool $8,251,000.

On September 30, Doerr received 10,966 shares, also for the bargain basement price of $0, and sold every one of them on the same day as well, netting another $8,343,000.

$16+ million in free shares dumped in a month, right near the top, is not a bad month, but Sergey Brin did far better.

On October 1, Sergey had a spectacular day, receiving 83,334 shares for the bargain basement price of $0, dumping every one of them for $750.82 to $765.18 per share, for a whopping net total of $63,167,000.

Happenstance? Inside Information? Or do insiders simply get free shares and dump them as soon as they can?

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

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