San Francisco - Twitter chief operating officer Ali Rowghani is among executives who sold shares when a lockup on insider sales was lifted, cashing out on part of his stake even with the stock near its all-time low.
Rowghani, who was among early shareholders banned from selling for a period after Twitter’s initial public offering, sold 300,000 shares of his stake for a profit of about $9.9 million (R102 million), according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Vijaya Gadde, the corporate counsel, and Luca Baratta, a vice president of finance, also sold part of their stakes.
Their decision comes in contrast to other insiders, including chief executive Dick Costolo and co-founders Evan Williams and Jack Dorsey, who pledged to hold on to their shares to signal a vote of confidence in the company.
Twitter has reported two quarters of decelerating user growth since its IPO, raising questions about whether the company has enough momentum to justify its stock price.
The executives are selling as Twitter hovers near an all-time low after losing half its value so far this year.
The company gained 4 percent today to $31.96.
It debuted at $26 on November 6.
Twitter spokesman Jim Prosser didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment after normal business hours. - Bloomberg News