Well, the auto-bot news generators are indicating a large sale by Chairman and CEO Kenneth Frazier.
Dead-hand software cannot discern that Mr. Frazier, pre- and post- these transactions, still owns around 509,000 shares of Merck.
His automated trading plan obviously had an algorithm to exercise, on a cashless basis, certain vested options — on a ten percent or more spike in the NYSE price — as occurred yesterday. So he liquidated options, without dropping his overall stake.
And so, he diversified, but kept the same outstanding stock stake — in the company. That’s not a negative, in any sense. Now you know. Onward.
New Merck, Reviewed 