Read The Recorder‘s roundup of the stock-option backdating scandal. There won’t be a test later … but there might be a subpoena.
As Echelon’s paper value grew during its first two years on the market, SEC filings show that it awarded options to executives at about the same time: On June 25 in 1998, the year it went public, and on June 23, 1999.
Directors, meanwhile, received their options on the day of the annual shareholder meeting. In 1999, for example, Sonsini got options to buy 10,000 shares at the May 1 price of $8.50, which turned out to be a good thing as the price quickly rose.
The planned distribution to directors in 2000 also fell on what turned out to be a fortuitous day. The annual meeting in 2000 was April 27, when the stock was trading at $31.44, near its low.
Had executives received their options in late June of 2000 � as they had the previous two years � they would have received them when the stock was trading at $62, near its high.
