Andrew Wilson sold EA shares worth $700,000 a day before the announcement of weak sales for Dragon Age: The Veilguard
On the evening of January 22, Electronic Arts (EA) announced that the new Dragon Age and EA SPORTS FC are selling below expectations, forcing the company to revise its financial forecast. It was revealed that on the eve of the announcement, its CEO Andrew Wilson disposed of a significant amount of his shares in the company.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
In a report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), it was stated that Wilson sold 5,000 common EA shares within a day, at prices ranging from $141.31 to $143.42 per share, earning a total of $713,400.
Notably, EA shares are currently trading much lower than the price Wilson took advantage of. As we reported earlier, in aftermarket trading on January 22, their price fell to $125.90 per share. By the morning of January 23, the decline continued, with the company’s stock price already dropping to $120.32 per share at the time of writing.
However, it's quite possible that Wilson's timing with the share sale and EA's announcement was just a fortunate coincidence, and the top executive wasn't manipulating the situation. In the U.S., under Rule 10b5-1, major shareholders must notify the SEC of their trading plans in advance to avoid accusations of insider trading. Wilson signed such a plan back on August 6, 2024, and was following it.
In the past year, Wilson has been regularly selling EA shares. For instance, in December, he earned $739,900 from selling company shares, and in November, $2.24 million.