Apple execs cash in on summer stock run-up

Two of Apple's top executives have taken advantage of investor confidence after the company's strong spring quarter results, selling off stocks and stock options in a transaction that saw over $30.3 million change hands in a single day.

Both the company's financial chief Peter Oppenheimer and Board of Directors member Bill Campbell have sold significant portions of their Apple investment on July 30, according to filings with the Security and Exchange Commission. The move comes just days after the company's July 25 spring quarterly report triggered a record share price for the year.

Oppenheimer was the most aggressive, selling 135,625 shares at a value of $144.28 each and netting roughly $19.6 million in a single transaction.

Campbell, who also heads up tax software firm Intuit in addition to his role at Apple, took a staggered approach. Spreading out his transactions over the course of the day, Campbell exercised the stock options granted to him to sell 77,051 shares at varying prices. After factoring in the stock option fee — which subtracted nearly $6 from every share — the board member collected about $10.7 million in profits.

Unlike the most recent share exchange by Oppenheimer and other top Apple officials, the latest transaction was not prompted by a desire to settle taxes and appears to be a strict profit-taking maneuver.

Coincidentally, the sell-off came just a day before an off-hand comment spread by analysts caused a significant drop in Apple's stock value, which had yet to fully recover as of Monday.