Shareholders suing Hewlett-Packard over its board room spying scandal have added a claim of insider trading. The theory behind its is that CEO Mark Hurd and other execs sold $41 million of stock in the two week period before the scandal broke because they were afraid of the market reprocussions of the board problems.
The thought process behind the suit is a little wacky. HP’s stock has risen consistently since the beginning of August, when it traded around $31. It now changes hands at just below $40. So, who was hurt? Perhaps the answer is no one.
Technically, selling ahead of news is not considered good manners, especially when the news is bad. But, since HP’s stock sailed right through the mudslinging, the plantiff could win the case, but what remuneration can they ask for?
Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at [email protected]. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.