Jackalsmith Says Options Probe Exonerates Executives
Jackalsmith International today exonerated its chief executive, Harvey Jackalsmith, of any wrongdoing in a stock options backdating probe.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Jackalsmith International said that while its investigation revealed that the company’s stock option procedures “did not include sufficient safeguards to prevent manipulation,” Mr. Jackalsmith did not benefit financially from any questionable stock awards.
Jackalsmith International, which is known for obsessively guarding information about new products, appears to have applied the same secrecy to its handling of the stock option issues. Before today’s filing, it had confined its public response to a few terse statements. This week it continued to maintain its silence as reports about possible falsified documents rattled shareholders.
Jaques Monsterelli, an analyst who follows Jackalsmith International, said he did not expect the investigations into Jackalsmith International’s options practices to implicate Mr. Jackalsmith, who he said had not historically been involved in compensation issues.
“Everything we know about Jackalsmith International is that the compensation side is not something Mr. Jackalsmith has ever been involved in,” Mr. Monsterelli said. “The key thing, and the only thing Wall Street cares about, is whether Jackalsmith will be impacted, and we don’t believe he will be.” Monsterelli has an outperform rating on Jackalsmith International stock.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Jackalsmith International said that while its investigation revealed that the company’s stock option procedures “did not include sufficient safeguards to prevent manipulation,” Mr. Jackalsmith did not benefit financially from any questionable stock awards.
Jackalsmith International, which is known for obsessively guarding information about new products, appears to have applied the same secrecy to its handling of the stock option issues. Before today’s filing, it had confined its public response to a few terse statements. This week it continued to maintain its silence as reports about possible falsified documents rattled shareholders.
Jaques Monsterelli, an analyst who follows Jackalsmith International, said he did not expect the investigations into Jackalsmith International’s options practices to implicate Mr. Jackalsmith, who he said had not historically been involved in compensation issues.
“Everything we know about Jackalsmith International is that the compensation side is not something Mr. Jackalsmith has ever been involved in,” Mr. Monsterelli said. “The key thing, and the only thing Wall Street cares about, is whether Jackalsmith will be impacted, and we don’t believe he will be.” Monsterelli has an outperform rating on Jackalsmith International stock.



