Why did this ASX All Ords director just offload $2 million in shares?

Weebit Nano's head of research and development has had a nice payday.

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Key points

  • Weebit Nano's head of research and development has sold 300,000 shares in the ASX All Ords tech junior 
  • He acquired the shares earlier this month by converting 300,000 unlisted options into shares 
  • The tech share has recovered ground over the past two months following a catastrophic fall from $9.03 a share in early March to $4.56 a share in late March 

ASX All Ords tech share Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT) is trading 1.83% higher today at $5.57 per share.

The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is also up 0.12%.

Weebit Nano is a developer of advanced semiconductor memory technology.

The head of its research and development activities is Dr Yoav Nissan-Cohen, who is an executive director on the board. 

According to a notice lodged with the ASX, Dr Nissan-Cohen has sold 300,000 Weebit Nano shares after converting 300,000 unlisted options

Let's take a look at the details. 

$2 million payday ASX All Ords tech director 

The off-market trade took place on 16 May and netted just over $1.97 million.

The sale price of the Weebit shares was $6.57. 

The timing was fortuitous, given the ASX All Ords tech share has fallen 17% since the day of the trade. 

As the chart below shows, Weebit shares hit a new 52-week high of $9.03 on 10 March. 

Then came the catastrophic fall to just $4.56 by 27 March. Yikes! 

Created with Highcharts 11.4.3Weebit Nano PriceZoom1M3M6MYTD1Y5Y10YALL1 Jan 202323 May 2023Zoom ▾9 Jan23 Jan6 Feb20 Feb6 Mar20 Mar3 Apr17 Apr1 May15 MayJan '23Jan '23Feb '23Feb '23Mar '23Mar '23Apr '23Apr '23May '23May '23www.fool.com.au

The ASX All Ords share was smashed after the company announced a heavily discounted fully underwritten institutional placement to raise $45 million and a non-underwritten share purchase plan (SPP) to raise up to an additional $10 million on 23 March. 

The likely bugbear that investors had with this plan was the offer price of $5 per share.  

The ASX tech stock went on to recover by 73% over April and May to hit a high of $7.89 on 11 May before starting to drift down again. 

Nissan-Cohen acquired the 300,000 shares on 10 May by converting 300,000 unlisted options into ordinary shares. 

He converted 230,000 unlisted options at 54 cents per share and 70,000 unlisted options at 82.3 cents per share. 

Options are a common form of remuneration for key executives in listed organisations. They are typically granted alongside a base salary and performance rights. 

Nissan-Cohen retains 670,000 unlisted options and 80,000 performance rights in the ASX All Ords tech company.

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Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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