Apple executive cashes in $38.7 million worth of stock

Scott Forstall, one of the Apple Inc. executives behind the company’s blockbuster iPad and iPhone, cashed in his products’ successes last week to the tune of $38.7 million. The sale represented 95% of his Apple stock holdings, leaving his very lucrative cupboard bare — for the time being.

Apple stock’s meteoric rise has hit some bumps lately, with shares down 5.4% over the last month. The stock hit a bigger skid starting in mid-April, dropping 13% before it rebounded after Apple’s huge earnings release last week.

But Forstall, Apple’s senior vice president for mobile software, may have had his eye on the recent volatility and decided to cash in before any more dips occurred. Since his sale Friday, the stock is down about 3%, closing at about $586 on Wednesday.

The big insider sale does not necessarily presage a run on Apple’s stock, however. Forstall cashed out heavily, but the amount was small in comparison with what he stands to make on yet-unvested restricted stock. Forstall is in line to receive 250,000 more shares of Apple stock, some of which will vest next year, and more if he stays until 2014.

At Wednesday’s closing price, his unvested shares would be worth $146 million. If the stock continues to go up — to, say, $1,000 a share, as some analysts have predicted — Forstall will be sitting on $250 million.

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