exactly, if they know they will receive X amount of shares in...

exactly, if they know they will receive X amount of shares in the future, and they're not inclined to hold these shares, then if they got them cheaper that todays current market price (which they did), then they could sell today, collect in the future, have the same number of overall shares, and make profit at the same time. Therefore for those holders doing this practice, the price is factored in todays current market price.