But It’s Likely Unrelated To GM’s Financial Status
General Motors CEO Mary Barra sold 40% of her holdings in the automaker last month, disposing of 372,024 shares on August 28, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The sale Barra earned $21.67 million, based on current market prices, and leaves her with 552,238 shares with an approximate value of $32.36 million. Over the past six months, Barra has reportedly sold 994,863 shares valued at approximately $57.93 million.
The latest sell-off came after a 7.22% year-to-date increase in the value of GM’s stock, which might explain the timing. The Detroit Free Press reports that GM manages the stock holdings of certain executives with an algorithm that automatically sells shares when they hit a predetermined price. That’s to prevent accusations of insider trading against these executives, who have access to confidential information, the paper noted.
Wall Street Remains Cautiously Optimistic
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Other GM executives have also sold significant amounts of shares over the past six months, GM Authority notes. Vice President and CAO Christoper Hatto sold 51,471 shares, while Executive Vice President Rory Harvey sold 23,977 shares. Those stakes are worth an estimated $2.89 million and $1.27 million, respectively.
Nonetheless, Wall Street is as optimistic as it can likely be about the largest U.S. automaker. GM still holds a “Moderate Buy” recommendation from a prominent group of analysts, which isn’t bad considering that established automakers often struggle to generate the enthusiasm among analysts and investors that Tesla and the EV startups can effortless conjure.
Future Uncertainty
Like other automakers’ the instability caused by Trump Administration policies is the defining challenge for GM right now. New tariffs threaten profitability and while, GM reported record EV sales in August, that was likely a temporary boom ahead of the expiration of the federal EV tax credit September 30. GM is at least better positioned than some rivals to deal with that with the strong-selling Chevrolet Equinox EV and the return of the Chevy Bolt EV for the 2027 model year.
