If you Google "HPE insider trades", you will find Meg had been crazily cashing out stock from June 20 to Aug 16. I downloaded one year insider trading details and analyzed the trading pattern. Seems like Antonio has been doing quarterly stock offload once a twice, which make perfect sense. However, Meg's trading behavior was not normal. Meg said the company is doing great while she non-stop cashed out HPE stocks in Q3. How can we trust the executives and management?
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Based on the historic performance of options with HP, it's wise to dump options as soon as you can. Since her options are noise relative to her net worth I can see where she would just sell them as soon as possible. She certainly got them at some great prices. But anyone that's ever been given options at HP Is to sell them ASAP if they aren't underwater.
So what she did was actually smart and nothing unusual .. not that I am a fan.
All of this started when the board of HP decided to focus on the HP's stock price back in 1999 during the dot.com run instead of letting it take care of itself as Bill and Dave did. Pay as you go, only get into markets where you can contribute. All of that was dumped for the stock price. And 18 years later the company is now in two marginal pieces.
Anyone who has been at HPE for more than a year knows that Meg has been looking to leave for a while. In fact, the only reason she is even at HPE is because of her failed governor run. She jumped on the Clinton bandwagon when it was clear that Chris Christie would not be the nominee (she was his campaign Finance Director btw!), in hopes of a Cabinet post if she won. She really wanted the Uber job despite what she may say. So being at HPE is not even her sloppy seconds at this point. ;-)
I have no fond connection to Meg and troupe. But I don't blame her/them for unloading this stock. Anyone still hanging on to HPE is a financial fool.
The only people who had stock and never sold it are the dinosaurs still at the company. There is no value in having stock if you never sell it, and there is certainly nothing nefarious in a CEO selling stock... she has millions of options and doesn't get a huge salary (relatively speaking), so what do you expect her to do?
Find something else to complain about while you wither away at a job you hate. Or, you could spend your energy leaving and enjoying life.
I did some "insider trading" myself. After seeing all the turmoil and "cost restructuring", I was shown the door. Externally, Meg says HPE is doing a great job, but as an insider (i.e. an employee), it's doing horribly with all the layoffs, star employees leaving, benefit cuts, morale problems, etc. How can you feel good about the HPE shares you own when it s---s to work there and know HPE can't grow or maintain its business any further based on what you've seen or experienced as an HPE employee? Sold off all my HPE shares end of last year.
I can't tell if I did better when I sold off at about $23 last year or not given all the spinoff share conversions, but I can say I'm glad to have washed my hands of HPE and moved onto something better. I perform so much better when I can just focus on the work and no longer have to hear about some org getting hit with WFRs, being reorganized or getting stressed out because you might be next.
Exactly!!
Is "insider trading" illegal? Meg should be in jail just like Martha Stewart who was arrested and place in jail for insider trading at a much lower profit than what Meg is doing.
Actually we can trust what she does, not what she says. So, if she is selling her stocks, she does not believe in the future of the company. So perhaps it's time for everybody trust Meg's actions - selling stocks and look for a new job outside HPE. This is what she is doing.