Has Elon Musk Sold Shares Of Twitter Already?

UPDATE: Elon Musk responded to another report on his Twitter stake Wednesday afternoon and said he has not sold any shares, adding that the initial share count that was filed was incorrect. 

No sale took place. Initial share number filed was incorrect.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 6, 2022

Jim Cramer says “bulls make money, bears make money, pigs get slaughtered.”

To that end, it would make sense that Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk would sell some of his recently acquired Twitter Inc TWTR shares and take profits amid the 25% uptick in the stock, right?

What Happened: An updated SEC filing found in Benzinga Pro on Tuesday shows Musk has changed the status of his stake from passive to active amid his appointment of Musk to Twitter’s board of directors, where he will serve as a Class 2 director until 2024.

Looking at the filing a little deeper, it shows that his stake in the company has been reduced from 9.2% to 9.1%, meaning he owns fewer shares now than he did when he initially reported his Twitter stake.

Analysis: Do Language Clues Point To Early Friction Between Elon Musk And Twitter?

Let’s do a little math.

Musk sprinkled his purchases of Twitter stock over the course of three months, spending a total of $2,643,542,498.46 to acquire 73,486,983 shares at an average price of $35.97.

The updated 13D shows he now owns 73,115,038 shares of the company — 371,900 fewer than originally disclosed. 

Twitter stock closed at $51.90 on Tuesday before the SEC filing was shared. So, one could assume that Musk sold 371,900 shares at a price of $51.90.

This would mean that Musk realized $5.92 million in profits in the 60 days since he began acquiring shares.

Why It Matters: Musk has been a critic of some of Twitter’s policies and has said he hopes to improve the social media platform while serving on the company’s board.

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal recently applauded Musk by saying “He's both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what we need on @Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long-term. Welcome Elon!"

Benzinga's Take: Musk selling a tiny portion of his holdings means nothing more than the richest man in the world remains prudent, and it is nothing to be concerned about.