Corporate insiders are selling shares of BlackBerry (TSX:BB) as the stock enjoys its biggest rally in more than 20 years.
BlackBerry’s stock price has nearly tripled since the start of 2021, rising from $8.44 to $22.92 a share, its biggest increase since February 2000. So far this year, the stock is one of the top performers in the S&P/Toronto Stock Exchange Composite Index.
At least two BlackBerry executives sold shares amid the current rally, according to filings with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. Chief Marketing Officer Mark Wilson on January 20 sold more than $990,000 U.S. of BlackBerry stock, reducing his directly owned shares by 60%. Chief Financial Officer Steve Rai sold nearly $430,000 U.S. of the stock on the same day, liquidating all the share he directly owned in the company.
"The executives traded during an open trading window as permitted under company policy, and all of our executives continue to have strong equity-based incentives through our long-term equity program," BlackBerry said in a written statement.
Much of the stock’s recent advance came after it settled a dispute with Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) over patent royalties. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Earlier this month, media reports said that BlackBerry had sold 90 patents to China’s Huawei. In December, the company signed an agreement with Amazon Web Services (NASDAQ:AMZN) for an "Intelligent Vehicle Data Platform" that also spurred the current stock rally.
BlackBerry has transformed itself in recent years from a smartphone manufacturer to a software developer, primarily for self-driving vehicles.
