peloton executives and insiders sold nearly 500 million worth of their stock before its big decline according to filings with the securities and exchange commission the companys stock is down more than 80 from its highs last year and it hit a 52week low of 2911 tuesday yet the companys ceo and other executives sold millions of shares at prices over 100 a share in the months leading up to the big declines company executives and insiders sold 496 million worth of their shares in 2021 according to smartinsider virtually all of the sales were part of 10b51 plans or prescheduled selling programs its unclear how many of the sales were also linked to options exercises or optionsrelated tax sales the big selling started when the stock started surging past 80 a share in the fall of 2020 and gained momentum in 2021 as the stock held above 100 the company didnt respond to requests for comment peloton shares soared as sales and subscribers grew during the coronavirus pandemic consumers flocked to the product as they looked for ways to break a sweat without a gym membership to meet the strong demand peloton invested in its business scurrying to ramp up manufacturing and expedite order fulfillment but as covid vaccines rolled out the company saw demand weaken and its stock began to sink john foley the companys ceo and cofounder sold 119 million worth of stock starting in november 2020 according to smartinsider most of his sales were for 110 a share or higher the sales were part of a prearranged 10b51 plan to sell a limited amount of the companys shares for personal financial management purposes according to a sec filing although the plan called for selling up to 24 million shares through october 2022 foley notified the board that he had terminated the selling plan on aug 30 2021 after selling a total of 1 million shares no reason was given for the termination but on nov 4 2021 the company slashed its sales forecast and the shares tumbled the stock sales represented about 16 of foleys total stake in the company excluding options including options the sale equaled about 5 of his holdings according to smartinsider many of the top peloton executives also cashed out a portion of their holdings with welltimed sales william lynch the company president sold more than 105 million in shares last year with 72 million sold in february at an average price of 14495