MicroStrategy director purchases shares after two-year selling period

MicroStrategy director Carl Rickertsen purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, according to a Jan. 12 filing with the SEC.

The filing indicates Rickertsen made the purchase on an open or private market. According to Insider Screener, the transaction marks his first purchase since July 13, 2022, when he acquired 4,000 shares. Between those dates, he had only sold shares, the data shows.

The purchase occurred days after MicroStrategy avoided removal from MSCI indices. Insider buying refers to transactions in which company executives or major shareholders legally purchase shares of their own company in the open market. Such transactions must be disclosed to the SEC, which reports the number of shares and timing of trades.

MicroStrategy positions itself as a vehicle for Bitcoin exposure, making its stock performance closely tied to the cryptocurrency. The stock tends to rally when Bitcoin rises and can fall sharply when Bitcoin declines, according to market observers.

That correlation prompted MSCI to consider excluding companies whose cryptocurrency holdings exceed a set portion of their balance sheet from its indices. MSCI has delayed any delisting for now, but the proposed criterion remains under consideration, the index provider has stated.

A Clear Street analyst recently lowered the firm’s price target on MicroStrategy while reiterating a Buy rating, calling the company a differentiated and compelling vehicle for leveraged Bitcoin exposure on a per-share basis, net of dilution.

The company holds 687,410 Bitcoin as of Jan. 11, according to company disclosures. The stock was trading higher at the time of the original report.