Insiders at GameStop, BlackBerry, LaCroix Maker Sit on Big Stock Gains

The founder and CEO of National Beverage Corp. FIZZ 6.47% , which makes LaCroix sparkling waters, is worth $2.5 billion more than he was at the beginning of the year. BlackBerry Ltd. BB 10.58% shares have flirted this week with levels that could unlock more than $100 million in cash and stock for its CEO.

The companies are among those that have been caught up in wild trading this month after individual investors started championing them on social media and Reddit message boards. These executives haven’t reported selling their shares, according to the most recent data available, so the changes in their personal wealth might prove fleeting. The executives and companies declined to comment on the stock moves.

A handful of other top executives and board members at GameStop and BlackBerry have sold about $22 million in shares this month, according to data provided by InsiderScore, which analyzes transactions by corporate insiders. Most sold before this week’s biggest gains.

Mr. Cohen, the new GameStop director, bought about 9 million shares, or 13% of the company, through his investment firm RC Ventures LLC over the last year when the stock was trading below $20. The stake ended 2020 worth about $170 million. If the gains persist, they could rival the money the young executive made in 2017 when he sold Chewy Inc., the online pet retailer he co-founded, to PetSmart Inc. for about $3.35 billion.

GameStop’s revenue has fallen in recent years as more people download games rather than buy them in stores. Its shares ended 2020 at $18.84. The stock traded above $482 this week and plunged 44% to close Thursday at $193.60.

Through a spokesman, Mr. Cohen declined to comment. GameStop declined to comment.

While Mr. Cohen hasn’t disclosed any recent sales of GameStop shares, four GameStop board members did. The directors sold a total of more than 900,000 shares between Jan. 13 and Jan. 15, averaging $21.22 to $37.71 a share.

Days before they sold the shares, GameStop had said three of the directors, including the board chair, wouldn’t seek re-election at the company’s annual meeting, typically in June, as part of a broader shake-up of the board by Mr. Cohen.

Together, the sales yielded $20.1 million. At GameStop’s Thursday close, the proceeds would have been closer to $175 million.

In some cases, this month’s volatility could undermine efforts by corporate boards to tie executive pay to company performance and set long-term incentives. Abnormal market moves rather than financial results could trigger executives’ equity awards.

A contract extension BlackBerry signed with CEO John Chen effective March 2018 promises a cash bonus of $90 million if the stock trades at $30 or above for 10 days within five years. At the time, BlackBerry shares were trading around $12.50, and Mr. Chen was trying to lead a shift from its smartphone roots to a software company.

BlackBerry has struggled to return to growth. It posted a revenue decline of 10% and net loss of $789 million for the nine months ended Nov. 30. The Canadian company’s stock traded around $5 for much of last year. It jumped above $28 intraday on Wednesday, before tumbling Thursday to close at $14.65.

In addition to the cash bonus, Mr. Chen could be awarded up to 5 million shares if the 10-day average price of BlackBerry shares hits different targets between $16 and $20. The recent run-up has brought the company far closer to reaching the targets than it has come in the nearly three years since the deal was signed. BlackBerry’s 10-day average close as of Thursday was $14.77, according to the Dow Jones Market Data Group.

Pay consultants warn that tying compensation to all-or-nothing stock price triggers can result in awards based on short-lived market swings. A 10-day average can limit that risk, but longer averaging periods would be better, said Marc Hodak, a partner with executive-compensation consulting firm Farient Advisors LLC. “There’s just too much else that’s going to be driving the stock price that management has nothing to do with, even absent a situation like this,” Mr. Hodak said.

Three BlackBerry executives on Jan. 20 sold 131,454 shares at prices averaging between $12.63 and $13.01, for total proceeds of $1.68 million, according to data from InsiderScore. At the company’s Dec. 31 closing price, the sales would have yielded about half as much.

A BlackBerry spokeswoman said the executives sold their shares at a time permitted under company policies. Mr. Chen didn’t respond to requests for comment, and the company didn’t respond to questions about his potential bonus or share awards.

Executives and other insiders who might know material but nonpublic information—for example, details about a quarter’s results before they have been disclosed—are typically prohibited from trading a company’s shares except by scheduling transactions in advance on certain days or at certain prices.

Ben Silverman, InsiderScore’s director of research, said he was surprised more insiders hadn’t sold, given the opportunity the run-ups offer. “Maybe the companies are telling them not to sell stock, which would be kind of a shame, because lightning usually only strikes once,” Mr. Silverman said.

Nick Caporella, the 84-year-old chairman and CEO of National Beverage, controlled 73% of the seltzer maker’s shares that were outstanding on Aug. 17, according to securities filings and an analysis from Equilar, an executive-pay data firm. That stake was worth $5.4 billion as of Thursday, compared with $2.9 billion at the start of the year.

Mr. Caporella, who built LaCroix into a brand with a cult consumer following, has for several years waged a public campaign against people betting against the company and blasted the lack of transparency around short selling, the practice of betting a stock will decline. He has also criticized regulators in recent years for not addressing his concerns about short sellers. The billionaire hasn’t sold shares since he founded the company in 1985, according to a person familiar with the matter.

In 2017, when his company’s stock price tumbled more than 20% in one month, Mr. Caporella issued a press release saying that more than half of daily exchange volume was “driven by traders gambling on fleeting price moves and stocks paired with derivatives.”

Through a spokesman, Mr. Caporella declined to comment Thursday.

After jumping from under $100 last week past $181 on Wednesday, National Beverage’s shares closed at $157.17 on Thursday.

—Jacquie McNish, Sarah E. Needleman and Jennifer Maloney contributed to this article.

Write to Theo Francis at [email protected]