A co-founder and key executive at autonomous vehicle developer Aurora Innovation Inc. has sold a combined $15.9 million worth of his personal stock investments in the company over a 30-day trading period.
According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Aurora (NASDAQ: AUR) Chief Product Officer Sterling Anderson has sold more than 5.9 million shares of the company's Class A common stock since he began selling it on June 8 and every trading day that markets have been open since then.
That's also the date that the stock hit its lowest point over this time period, where Anderson's sale of 200,000 shares netted him over $406,000 in gross proceeds with an estimated $2.03 price per share.
For all but four days during this period, Anderson has sold exactly 200,000 shares of the company's common stock in a given day. On July 13 and following a rise in the stock price, the sale of 200,000 shares netted Anderson over $679,000 in gross proceeds with an average price per share of $3.40.
When reached for comment regarding the sale of his company stock investments, an Aurora spokesperson said via an email that these actions have been part of a financial plan Anderson established last year.
"In an effort to diversify his personal finances, Mr. Anderson put in place a 'set it and forget it' style financial plan, known as a 10b5-1 plan, in September 2022 to incrementally sell shares at predetermined prices," the spokesperson said. "If the entire plan is executed, Mr. Anderson will continue to own approximately 85% of his original shares in Aurora."
The spokesperson did not share further details about the financial plan other than that they confirmed that Anderson's stock sales were not related to Aurora's recent public offering and concurrent private placement, which closed on July 21. Those investment deals infused the company with $820 million, enough capital to sustain operations until Aurora is ready to deploy its self-driving trucking product by the end of 2024.
Aurora CEO Chris Urmson co-founded the company in 2016 alongside Anderson and Drew Bagnell, the company's chief scientist. All three had previous autonomous vehicle experience at different companies before joining together to launch Aurora. Based in the Strip District, Aurora employs about 2,000 people, about half of whom reside and work in Pittsburgh.
