RE: InsidersActually, I think this selling of stock acquired via options on the same day is usual fare, and caused by Canadian tax laws. I believe the tax laws actually encourage the immediate sale of these shares on the day they're acquired.
I was told that stock acquired via options is valued for capital gains tax purposes as the difference between what the option price was and the closing price of the stock AT THE END OF THE DAY THE OPTION WAS EXERCISED. This is important because it means that if stock is acquired upon on exercise but not sold--AND THEN THE STOCK SUBSEQUENTLY DECLINES over a subsequent time--the tax liability is still owed!
This is very real, and reared its ugly head during last Fall's horror in the junior mining companies. Some folks learned the hard way about this. They didn't sell their newly acquired optioned shares and the stock price subsequently got hammered beyond belief--but they still owed taxes on gains they no longer had!
If all this is true, then it isn't significant that optionees sell stock the same day they acquire shares; delaying a sale is actually a big risk. On the other hand, it IS significant if insiders exercise options and DON'T sell those shares. That is a HUGE vote of confidence.
All this doesn't mean that EAS is headed lower now. If we get holes on the scale of what's being bandied about here, we'll soon re-launch. It just means that insiders are being prudent and taking some profits after an amazing run. Heck, I've taken some profits, too, but EAS is still my second largest holding. I'll bet most of us here have taken SOME profits.
IMHO. DYODD.