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Its stock red hot, Red Hat’s insiders are ca$hing out shares

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Note: The Skinny blog is written by Rick Smith, editor and co-founder of Local Tech Wire and business editor of WRAL.com.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Red Hat’s stock is red hot, and company insiders are cashing out.

Shares closed at $28.02 Tuesday, close to the 52-week high of $28.68 and nearly four times the 52-week low of $7.50 reached in last fall’s global financial swan dive.

Chief Financial Officer Charles Peters is leading the way. On Oct. 12, Peters sold 80,000 Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) shares at more than $28 per share.

His payday: A cool $2.25 million.

The cash out came after he exercised options on 60,000 shares at a mere $10.70.

Alex Pinchev, Michael Cunningham and Mark Cook also hit the check-out lane on some of their holdings as did board member Hugh Shelton, retired Army four-star general and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

Interestingly, CEO Jim Whitehurst and Chairman Matthew Szulik aren’t on the list of recent redeemers.

A Hatter since 2003, Pinchev leads the company's worldwide sales, services, and field marketing organization. He exercised options on 65,625 shares at $15.34 on Oct 9. That same day he sold more than 100,000 shares at $28 for a cash out of $2.82 million.

Cunningham, executive vice president and general counsel, went to the bank in September. On Sept. 9 he sold more than 97,000 shares at between $27.3 and $27.85 for more than $2.7 million. Three weeks later on the 28th he exercised options on 56,200 shares at $15.34.

Controller Mark Cook, meanwhile, sold 16,000 shares for a payout of $446,4000 last month.

Shelton, who helped recruit Whitehurst, sold 20,000 shares at $27.61 each for more than $552,000.

So what are you doing with your shares?

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The Skinny

WRAL Local Tech Wire Publisher and Editor Rick Smith dishes out tidbits from the local technology sector. Read more articles…