Things that make you go hmmmm.... - Printable Version
+- The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board)
+-- Forum: Emergency (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-11.html)
+--- Forum: Covid-19 (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-12.html)
+--- Thread: Things that make you go hmmmm.... (/thread-20843.html)
+- The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board)
+-- Forum: Emergency (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-11.html)
+--- Forum: Covid-19 (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-12.html)
+--- Thread: Things that make you go hmmmm.... (/thread-20843.html)
Things that make you go hmmmm.... - BostonCard - 11-11-2020
https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/lucky-pfizer-ceo-bourla-cashes-out-5-6m-worth-stock-perfectly-legally-as-covid-vaccine-data
That was very fortuitous timing for Pfizer's CEO, and while the stock sales were pre-planned, the date of the DSMB (data safety and monitoring board) and press release were not entirely pre-ordained. Like, I wonder if there might have been a couple days delay had the news been bad.
BC
RE: Things that make you go hmmmm.... - Genuine Realist - 11-11-2020
(11-11-2020, 11:59 AM)BostonCard Wrote: https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/lucky-pfizer-ceo-bourla-cashes-out-5-6m-worth-stock-perfectly-legally-as-covid-vaccine-dataIt is interesting, but the CEO was probably counseled to a fare-thee-well. So I doubt it.
That was very fortuitous timing for Pfizer's CEO, and while the stock sales were pre-planned, the date of the DSMB (data safety and monitoring board) and press release were not entirely pre-ordained. Like, I wonder if there might have been a couple days delay had the news been bad.
BC
RE: Things that make you go hmmmm.... - Farm93 - 11-11-2020
Most executives at that level have very tight windows in the calendar when they can exercise options. They usually can't sell after a quarter closes, but before the company announces. Most companies frawn upon sales in the last 2 weeks of a quarter too since executives have a very good sense for how the quarter will close at that time. So right out of the gate several weeks in a 13 week quarter are off limits.
Pfizer is a big company so even promising news like this only moved the stock 8%.
Probably would have been better for all involved if the transaction happened in a different week, but I understand what happened.
RE: Things that make you go hmmmm.... - chrisk - 11-11-2020
(11-11-2020, 01:35 PM)Farm93 Wrote: Most executives at that level have very tight windows in the calendar when they can exercise options. They usually can't sell after a quarter closes, but before the company announces. Most companies frawn upon sales in the last 2 weeks of a quarter too since executives have a very good sense for how the quarter will close at that time. So right out of the gate several weeks in a 13 week quarter are off limits.The report I saw on CNBC said the sale was driven by the stock price and not the specific date. They said the plan was adopted in August.
Pfizer is a big company so even promising news like this only moved the stock 8%.
Probably would have been better for all involved if the transaction happened in a different week, but I understand what happened
RE: Things that make you go hmmmm.... - BostonCard - 11-11-2020
(11-11-2020, 01:42 PM)chrisk Wrote: The report I saw on CNBC said the sale was driven by the stock price and not the specific date. They said the plan was adopted in August.
Per the article I linked, "Bourla sold his shares under SEC rule 10b5-1, which allows company insiders to sell a predetermined amount of stock on predetermined dates." It doesn't suggest that it was based on a pre-determined price.
I'm not implying that the CEO sold the shares based on insider information, as the results of the study were already public at the time of the sale. But the company did have some room to set the date for the DSMB meeting and the press release, and the CEO did know when his shares were scheduled to sell.
I think I made a similar post when Moderna announced its phase I results.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/22/investing/moderna-coronavirus-vaccine-stock-sales/index.html
Again, the timing of the sales is set in advance. However, the timing of the press release is not. In the case of Moderna, I recall that the data they released at the time was encouraging but somewhat flimsy and could have waited until they had full phase I data.
BC
RE: Things that make you go hmmmm.... - BostonCard - 11-11-2020
Here’s another view:
https://www.npr.org/2020/11/11/933957580/pfizer-ceo-sold-millions-in-stock-after-coronavirus-vaccine-news-raising-questio
They also raise questions about the stock sale plan, though a lot of the questions were on the front end, with a suggestion that the system be reformed. However, even though I raised similar issues, I was surprised that NPR published this piece, given that there wasn’t a ton of evidence there. It’s one thing for a rando like me to speculate; it’s another for NPR to do so.
BC
RE: Things that make you go hmmmm.... - chrisk - 11-26-2020
(11-11-2020, 07:18 PM)BostonCard Wrote: Here’s another view:
https://www.npr.org/2020/11/11/933957580/pfizer-ceo-sold-millions-in-stock-after-coronavirus-vaccine-news-raising-questio
They also raise questions about the stock sale plan, though a lot of the questions were on the front end, with a suggestion that the system be reformed. However, even though I raised similar issues, I was surprised that NPR published this piece, given that there wasn’t a ton of evidence there. It’s one thing for a rando like me to speculate; it’s another for NPR to do so.
BC
10b5(1) plans have generated controversy (at least in academic circles) for many years. Whenever one is triggered around a highly publicized event, the controversy becomes more public.
The plans are clearly an attempt to get around the issue of executives selling based on insider information. But the fact that the plans can be changed and can trigger sales a few months after implementation raise obvious questions as well.
In the NPR article, Pfizer reiterates that the timing and number of shares sold were triggered by the price of the stock.