Xbox Exec Sold Stock as Problems Mounted

Microsoft's entertainment and devices chief Robbie Bach sold $6.2 million in stock in the two months preceding the company's admission that Xbox repairs had reached an "unacceptable" level.

The hardware problems were said to affect as many as 3 out of every 10 consoles according to some sources. Bach said the company had developed a fix for the issue and was already implementing it into consoles that Microsoft is manufacturing now.

Previous to May 2, when the first sale of stock occurred, Bach had not sold any shares for eight months, according to regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

All sales of stock occurred during the month of May, although the close proximity to the negative Xbox news has caused some concern. While Bach was not available to comment, a company representative inferred that some were reading too much into the move, and that he "remains confident in the long-term success of the company."

In some cases, executives will set up pre-arranged selling dates in order to avoid the appearance of selling stocks based on insider information. However, Bach's trades were not done as part of a regularly scheduled plan.

Some are sticking up for Bach, noting that the announcement of Xbox 360 problems has had little effect on Microsoft's stock. It had regained all but about 20 cents of its opening price last Thursday as of this morning.