MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor has been active in selling off shares of his company, making use of a stock-sale agreement that he entered into last year. This agreement allowed him to sell up to 400,000 shares by April of this year. So far, he has successfully managed to cash in 370,000 shares, amounting to $372.7 million in value. This represents over 90% of the agreed-upon shares outlined in the agreement.
The 10b5-1 Plan Explained
The agreement that Saylor utilized for selling his shares is known as a 10b5-1 plan. This plan allowed him to sell up to 5,000 shares daily from January 2 to April 25. These shares were tied to a vested stock option set to expire on April 30, 2024. Following the latest disclosed sale, Saylor’s Class A holdings have decreased to 30,000 shares.
MicroStrategy’s Stock Performance
Despite experiencing a 37% decline from its March peak, MicroStrategy’s stock has shown significant growth, rising by 91% this year. This follows a remarkable 346% surge in 2023, making it one of the top performers in the U.S. stock market. As the largest shareholder of MicroStrategy, Saylor’s Class B holdings are estimated at $2.3 billion.
In addition to his holdings in MicroStrategy, Saylor also holds 17,732 BTC acquired in 2020, now valued at approximately $1.1 billion. MicroStrategy itself has accumulated over 214,000 BTC since 2020, amounting to roughly 1% of the total existing BTC supply and valued at approximately $13.6 billion. This makes up the majority of the company’s $21.3 billion market capitalization.
Advantage of Bitcoin Investments
Bitcoin has seen significant growth this year, contributing to MicroStrategy’s returns. The launch of spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January, along with the Bitcoin halving which encourages more participation in the market, has led to increased interest in Bitcoin investments. Saylor notes that MicroStrategy has an advantage as a leveraged BTC play without associated management fees, compared to investing in other new ETFs.
In a move to further increase its Bitcoin holdings, MicroStrategy announced a convertible debt sale that raised $782 million at an interest rate of 0.625%. The company explicitly stated its intention to acquire more BTC with the proceeds from this sale. These moves signify MicroStrategy’s ongoing commitment to bolstering its position in the crypto market.