Option Issuance Drawing Fire From SEC

Yesterday, Juniper Networks and Openwave Systems had their names added to the list of companies whose option issuance is drawing scrutiny from the SEC. As the Wall Street Journal reported last week, both KLA-Tencor and Renal Care Group have recieved similar inquiries. The attention focuses on the timing of option grants to executives. Analysts and investigators say more than coincidence must be at play when the issuance dates line up exactly with stock lows in any given period and just before big run-ups in share price. Backdating “represents the ultimate in greed,” says Arthur Levitt, a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. “It is stealing, in effect. It is ripping off shareholders in an unconscionable way.”
Tech Options Probe Expands [Red Herring]
5 More Firms’ Option Practices Unusual [Hartford Courant]

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