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GameStop director Leonard Riggio has sold 2.3 million shares in the company, in a move that analysts say might be a sign of pessimism on the retailer's near-term prospects.

Leigh Alexander, Contributor

October 13, 2009

1 Min Read

GameStop director Leonard Riggio has sold 2.3 million shares in the company, in a move that analysts say might be a sign of pessimism on the retailer's near-term prospects. Riggio -- also board chairman and founder of the Barnes & Noble bookstore chain, which used to own GameStop -- earned $60.2 million through the sale, and lowers his stake in the company to 5.5 percent from 6.9 percent. "Unless he desperately needs $60 million," it appears that he doesn't think the stock is going to be performing very well, insider trading firm Form4Oracle co-founder Alex Romayev told financial magazine Barron's. "He's got a lot bigger stake in Barnes & Noble. Clearly he thinks selling GameStop is better than selling Barnes & Noble." Most analysts have been generally positive on the retailer's prospects ahead of the key holiday season, thanks to hardware price cuts, improved year-over-year comparisons likely ahead, and the view of retailers like Best Buy that consumer foot traffic is about to make a return. But Romayev told Barron's that the last time Riggio made a GameStop shares sale not related to options, he divested just in time to avoid a 62 percent loss.

About the Author(s)

Leigh Alexander

Contributor

Leigh Alexander is Editor At Large for Gamasutra and the site's former News Director. Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Variety, Slate, Paste, Kill Screen, GamePro and numerous other publications. She also blogs regularly about gaming and internet culture at her Sexy Videogameland site. [NOTE: Edited 10/02/2014, this feature-linked bio was outdated.]

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