Note: Last week's insider sales at Newmont were notdiscretionary, but forced by routine withholding taxes levied on restricted stock options that have vested. The sales are not comparable with those of December and January.
NEW YORK (Mineweb.com) -- Insider share transactions at Newmont [NEM] are keenly watched as a barometer for how key players are marking value during the gold bull run, so last week’s clutch of new sales will attract scrutiny.
There was a slew of selling in December and January, including a one-eighth reduction in Newmont president Pierre Lassonde’s stake; and nearly a quarter of director Seymour Schulich's position was sold. The latest sales took place last Thursday at a price close to the 40-day moving average for Newmont, and were triggered by withholding taxes on the company's long-term incentive plan.
Clearly, the latest sales won’t be exciting anyone – they have the character of an office football pool. All the shares were sold at the same price, $44.38, for a total value amounting to a piddling $577,694. Almost half of that was attributed to Lassonde and Newmont chief executive, Wayne Murdy.
That hardly compares with the December-January surge when many million dollars worth of stock was sold in Canada and the US near multi-year highs in company valuations and the gold price. "
NEM Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
