eBay insiders to sell shares
Executives at the online auctioneer have registered to sell more than $100 million in shares, according to documents filed with the SEC.
The registrations came May 2, 3, 7, 8 and 9. The biggest registrations came from the senior vice president for planning and analysis, Jeffrey Skoll, who filed to sell 600,000 shares valued at $27.9 million, and founder Pierre Omidyar, who registered to sell 550,000 shares valued at $25.6 million. Omidyar controls 68.1 million shares, and Skoll controls 39.8 million, according to other documents filed by the company.
The Sweetwater Trust, of which CEO Meg Whitman is a trustee, has filed to sell 600,000 shares valued at $27.9 million. That trust controls 3.77 million shares.
eBay could not be reached for comment.
The insiders have picked a good time to cash in; eBay has weathered the twists and turns of the Nasdaq fairly well. It closed Wednesday at $53.14, almost double its 52-week low of $26.75, although that was down from a 52-week high of $79.75.
In fact, eBay's biggest problem right now is keeping pace with rising expectations. Last month, the company reported first-quarter results that topped Wall Street estimates, posting a pro forma profit, excluding unusual costs, of $30.6 million, or 11 cents per share. It also raised revenue forecasts for the rest of the year, saying the economic downturn had not slowed its rate of growth.
Other sellers include the senior vice president for strategic planning, Gary Bengier, who registered to sell 200,000 shares valued at $9.3 million, and Chief Operating Officer Brian Swette, who filed to sell 180,000 shares valued at $8.37 million. Maynard Webb, president of eBay Technologies, registered to sell 100,000 shares valued at $5.1 million.
General Counsel Mike Jacobsen registered to sell 70,000 shares valued at $3.26 million, and Chief Financial Officer Rajiv Dutta filed to sell 30,000 shares valued at $1.4 million.
Other insider sellers include the senior vice president for eBay U.S., Jeffrey Jordan, and the senior vice president for eBay international, Matthew Bannick, who registered to sell 729 and 337 shares, respectively.