How it is worked out
It is filed when the shares to be sold within three months number more than 5,000 or are worth more than $50,000. It states how many shares, their value, how they were acquired (as pay, for example) and through which broker they will be sold.
How to read it
- It is an intention, not a sale: the sale, if it happens, shows later on Form 4.
- Many such sales are of shares received as pay, or are made under a 10b5-1 plan set months before.
Example
A director files a Form 144 for 20,000 shares worth $2 million, received as pay: two days later, Form 4 shows the sale.