If Goldman Earnings Are So Good, Why Are Execs Selling So Much?

Earlier Tuesday, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) reported very good overall earnings. That’s what makes the information that executives of GS have been selling stock so intriguing.

During September 2008-April 2009 (since the collapse of a major competitor, Lehman Brothers), GS executives sold more than $690 million worth of stock, compared to nearly $440 million in stock sold September 2007-April 2008 (at a much higher average price than the former date range). The peak of the stock sales took place December 2008-February 2009, when GS’s share price was trading at near record lows.

While the institution has repaid the $10 billion in government bailout funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the stock sales took place after GS received the funds. So far, GS has managed to negotiate around the worst of the financial crisis, though it was forced to convert into a bank holding company to have access to government funding.

Clearly, the executives of this company had minimal faith in their own company, which has rebounded 215% since the 52-week low.

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