[Am-info] MSFT Stock behavior

[Mitch Stone]

It show up on the chart for today:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=MSFT&d=c&k=c1&a=v&p=s&t=1d&l=on&z=m&q=l

This behavior isn't too unusual. Quite a few companies are using the 
falling market to repurchase shares. Volume also jumped at that point.

Mitch

On Tuesday, July 23, 2002, at 04:36 PM, John J. Urbaniak wrote:

> Something very strange happened to Microsoft stock today.
>
> I was watching CNBC about 10 minutes to 4:00.  The announcers were
> saying that MSFT was down about $3.50 to $42- something which was a new
> 52-week low for the stock.
>
> At the same time they were saying that, the ticker showed MSFT down
> $3.48 to 42-something, then several trades went by showing the stock
> down only 6 cents at 46.00.  There was no gradual uptrend from the lower
> value.
>
> At the close, the stock was back to 42-something.  There was no gradual
> downtrend, just the lower value.
>
> The announcers remarked about this *strange* behavior.  Maria Bartiromo
> and the other two announcers noted the behavior and commented on it.
> Stocks just don't act that way.
>
> Question: Was Microsoft trying to manipulate the price of its stock so
> it wouldn't show such a big loss at the close?  Did they have a patsy
> putting in buy bids at $46.00 right before the close?  If so, this is a
> felony.
>
> Time will tell.
>
> At any rate, it didn't work.  MSFT closed at a new 52-week low.  It was
> listed as the most active NASDAQ stock and brought down the Dow, the
> NASDAQ average and the S&P 500 significantly.
>
> It also made Microsoft employee's stock options even more worthless.
>
> John
>
>
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