The CEO of Adobe Systems announced today that he was stepping down. Bruce Chizen has been with Adobe for 13 years and by all accounts did an excellent job.
A trust in Chizen's name sold 189,000 shares of stock on November 1, 2007 at prices ranging from $46.90- $47.85. The high for the year was $ 48.47. Mr. Chizen did not announce until Nov. 13, 2007 that he was stepping down. The stock traded below $40 after the news was made public.
Insider trading comes in many forms. The difference between a rounded off $48 a share and $40 a share on 189,000 shares is $1,512,000. Not that he needed the higher amount, but it is nothing to sneeze at.
Surely he knew he was leaving the company two weeks ago. Did he owe it to the shareholders to announce he was leaving prior to the scheduled sale of his stock on Nov.1? After all the textbook definition of insider trading is acting on non public information.
Insider trading is much more prevalent than the public is led to believe and the regulators have done very little to curtail it. It is amazing how many stocks jump in price just before a major announcement is made. Just coincidence ..I think not.