2 Insiders Sell $10.5M in Apple Inc. (AAPL): Bears on Board?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been generating a lot of buzz and excitement with its pending unveiling (though Apple has been known to be very coy about these types of things) of the iPhone 5, iPad Mini and perhaps a collection of new devices that will run the new iOS 6. The “Apple Monitor” that was mentioned here yesterday seems to indicate that September and/or Ocotber are going to be big months for Apple – which may indicate the release of more than just a new iPhone.

Yes, it seems like a good time to get into some Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock just in time for the holiday shopping season. Or is it?

In recent days, a couple of insiders – members of the board of directors at Apple – have actually sold some of their positions, with one dumping 90 percent of his stake in the company. The four separate transactions totaled 17,500 shares and about $10.5 million in value. While that is a small drop in the company’s $560 billion market cap, could this be a bearish sign for the company?

William Campbell, who is on boards at both Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU), completed three transactions July 30 that sold 10,000 shares at about $590 a share (about $5.9 million in value), which left him with just a little less than 1,600 shares in his holdings. The fourth transaction, which was consummated just Wednesday, was from fellow Apple board member Arthur Levinson – who is also a director for Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Amyris Inc. (NASDAQ:AMRS) – who sold 7,500 shares at $619 a share – a sale of $4.6 million. He still has more than 169,000 shares in his holdings, however.

So what does this mean in the grand scheme of things when it comes to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)? Maybe not much, but it is interesting to note that two directors would sell off positions within 10 days of each other, for upward of $10 million. Is it just a simple profit-taking, or the fact that one director sold off 90 percent of his shares in one day means there is something on the horizon? Just something for which to watch.