SEC to Investigate GT Advanced’s Trading Activities

GT Advanced, Apple’s failed sapphire crystal supplier, is facing a SEC investigation into share trading as the company neared bankruptcy, reports Bloomberg.

The Wall Street Journal uncovered earlier last month that GT Advanced executives had sold shares, cashing in tens of millions of dollars before the Apple supplier filed for bankruptcy on October 6. The most notable sale is that initiated by the company CEO a day before the Apple event, when GT Advanced stock prices reached an all-time high . . . The following day the supplier saw its stock price fall as Apple decided not to use the scratch-resistant sapphire and to use the well-known Gorilla Glass instead.

The SEC inquiry will have these sales in focus and could reveal what GTA executives knew as they sold shares while the company struggled to meet the deadlines imposed by the contract with Apple.

Much has happened since the Apple supplier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, but the “burdensome” terms of the contract remain hidden from the public. This is about to change, as today those terms will be revealed, as the two parties have reached a settlement that will free GT Advanced from exclusivity agreements with Apple.