By Jeff Bezos, the founder and executive chair of Amazon.com Inc., recently sold approximately 12 million shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock for a total worth of $2 billion. While this may lead some investors to consider following suit, it is important to note that this should not be interpreted as a signal to sell.
The sales were disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission and marked Bezos’ first stock sell-off since he unloaded 60 million shares earlier this year. However, according to VerityData’s research vice president, Ben Silverman, there may be more selling in the future. Bezos has recently adopted a new trading plan that allows him to sell up to 50 million shares by January 2025.
The latest sale of 12 million shares was part of a 10b5-1 plan, which triggers sales based on specific predetermined conditions. Silverman believes that more sales can be expected in the near term, as Bezos typically concentrates his selling activity over a few days rather than spreading it out over weeks or months.
It is worth noting that the trading plan implemented by Bezos included a mandatory 90-day cooling-off period, which expired prior to last week’s sales.
In conclusion, while Jeff Bezos’ recent stock sell-off may raise eyebrows, it is important for investors to stay focused on their individual investment strategies and not make hasty decisions based solely on Bezos’ actions.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Sells Stocks at Highest Price Ever
The stock of Amazon, one of the world’s largest companies, experienced a 1.3% decline in Monday afternoon trading. This comes as Jeff Bezos, the CEO, sold off some of his shares at the highest price ever recorded after adjusting for stock splits.
While insider stock sales are often seen as indicators of a company’s valuation, researcher Silverman pointed out that Bezos’ previous selling patterns have not accurately predicted Amazon’s stock performance. Nevertheless, Bezos refrained from selling any stock in 2022 and 2023, instead choosing to gift 14.6 million shares to various non-profit organizations.
These recent gifts occurred in November 2023, based on public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Despite these sales and gifts, Bezos still retains over $168 billion worth of Amazon shares at current prices.
Amazon declined to provide any comment on these latest stock sales.
Comments