“A shareholder lawsuit filed in federal court alleges that Apple Computer directors improperly backdated stock option grants to 14 current and former officers on 17 dates between 1993 and 2001,” Kathleen Pender reports for The San Francisco Chronicle.
“‘In a striking pattern that could not have been the result of chance, each and every one of the … grants was dated just after a sharp drop and just before a substantial rise in Apple’s stock price,’ the suit says,” Pender reports. “On these 17 occasions, the change in Apple’s stock price starting 10 days before the grant and ending 10 days after ranged from 1.5 percent to 48.6 percent.”
“Apple has launched an investigation into its options grants and last week acknowledged the receipt — but not the contents — of two shareholders suits. The company had no further comment on the allegations Monday. ‘We are currently evaluating our response to the lawsuits,’ Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said,” Pender reports.
Full article here.
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