The idea that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus would have a sapphire display was one of the most widely reported errors leading up to the unveiling of Apple’s next gen iPhones.
But while plenty of time was spent discussing the possibility, very few people made any money through the speculation — except for Tom Gutierrez, CEO of sapphire manufacturer GT Advanced Technologies, which just filed for bankruptcy protection.
According to the Wall Street Journal, one day before Apple revealed its new iPhones wouldn’t feature sapphire screens after all, the boss of the struggling company cashed in more than 9,000 shares of GT stock for an average price of $17.38 — bringing in a total of $160,000.
Since February this year, Gutierrez has sold close to 700,000 shares in his company, valued at more than $10 million.
After Apple made its announcement about the new iPhones, shares in GT fell by 13% to $14.94. They fell again on Monday, this time by 93% to 80 cents each, after the bankruptcy announcement.
Shares in the company have more than doubled this year, based on the hype about possible sapphire screens for the iPhone 6 and a partnership with Apple.
While GT claims Gutierrez’s share sale was part of a pre-arranged share sales plan, the Wall Street Journal notes that “there was no obvious pattern to [the] sales.”
GT Advanced Technologies has claimed that, despite bankruptcy protection, it won’t be shutting down any time soon.
“We are convinced that the rehabilitative process of chapter 11 is the best way to reorganize, protect our company and provide a path to our future success,” Gutierrez said in a press release Monday. “We remain committed to our roots in innovation and our diversification strategy. We plan to continue to operate as a technology leader across our core set of businesses.”
Via: Arstechnica
