Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY) chair sells 70,000 shares after option exercise
Filing Impact
Filing Sentiment
Form Type
4
Rhea-AI Filing Summary
Etsy Inc. executive chair Josh Silverman exercised employee stock options and sold shares in a coordinated transaction. He exercised 70,000 options for Common Stock at $10.62 per share and sold 70,000 Common Stock shares at $65.00 per share in an open-market transaction made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted on November 20, 2025.
Following the sale, he directly holds 130,694 Common Stock shares. Separate indirect holdings are reported through various trusts, including a grantor retained annuity trust where he is trustee and beneficiary, and several irrevocable trusts where he disclaims beneficial ownership.
Positive
- None.
Negative
- None.
Insights
Routine option exercise-and-sell under a pre-planned Rule 10b5-1 plan.
Josh Silverman exercised 70,000 employee stock options at an exercise price of $10.62 per share and sold 70,000 Etsy Common Stock shares at $65.00 per share. This is a classic exercise-and-sell pattern converting an option position into cash.
The filing states the exercise and subsequent sale were made pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted on November 20, 2025, indicating the transactions were pre-scheduled rather than opportunistic. After the sale, he directly holds 130,694 shares and continues to have substantial indirect interests via a GRAT and other trusts.
Insider Trade Summary 10b5-1
Net Seller: 70,000 shares ($4,550,000)
Net Sell
8 txns
Insider
Silverman Josh
Role
null
Sold
70,000 shs ($4.55M)
| Type | Security | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise | Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy) | 70,000 | $0.00 | -- |
| Exercise | Common Stock | 70,000 | $10.62 | $743K |
| Sale | Common Stock | 70,000 | $65.00 | $4.55M |
| holding | Common Stock | -- | -- | -- |
| holding | Common Stock | -- | -- | -- |
| holding | Common Stock | -- | -- | -- |
| holding | Common Stock | -- | -- | -- |
| holding | Common Stock | -- | -- | -- |
Holdings After Transaction:
Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy) — 679,399 shares (Direct, null);
Common Stock — 200,694 shares (Direct, null);
Common Stock — 4,942 shares (Indirect, By GST Trust)
Footnotes (1)
- This exercise and subsequent sale were made pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted by the Reporting Person on November 20, 2025. These shares are held by the JGS 2018 Irrevocable GST Trust (the "GST Trust"). The Reporting Person's spouse is the trustee of the GST Trust. The Reporting Person disclaims beneficial ownership of these securities, and the filing of this report is not an admission that the Reporting Person is the beneficial owner of these securities for purposes of Section 16 or for any other purpose. These shares are held by the JGS 2018 Irrevocable Non-GST Trust (the "Non-GST Trust"). The Reporting Person's spouse is the trustee of the Non-GST Trust. The Reporting Person disclaims beneficial ownership of these securities, and the filing of this report is not an admission that the Reporting Person is the beneficial owner of these securities for purposes of Section 16 or for any other purpose. These shares are held by a grantor retained annuity trust (the "GRAT"). The Reporting Person is the trustee and the beneficiary of the GRAT. These shares are held by the Joshua G. Silverman 2019 Irrevocable Children's Trust (the "2019 Trust"). A family member of the Reporting Person is the trustee of the 2019 Trust. The Reporting Person disclaims beneficial ownership of these securities, and the filing of this report is not an admission that the Reporting Person is the beneficial owner of these securities for purposes of Section 16 or for any other purpose. These stock options are part of a grant that vested as to 25% on May 4, 2018 with the remainder vesting in 36 equal monthly installments.
Key Figures
Shares sold: 70,000 shares
Sale price: $65.00 per share
Options exercised: 70,000 options
+5 more
8 metrics
Shares sold
70,000 shares
Common Stock sold at $65.00 on April 21, 2026
Sale price
$65.00 per share
Open-market sale of 70,000 Common Stock shares
Options exercised
70,000 options
Employee Stock Options exercised for Common Stock
Option exercise price
$10.62 per share
Exercise price of employee stock options
Direct shares after transaction
130,694 shares
Common Stock directly held after April 21, 2026 sale
GRAT indirect holding
109,675 shares
Common Stock held indirectly by a grantor retained annuity trust
GST Trust holding
4,942 shares
Common Stock held by JGS 2018 Irrevocable GST Trust
Remaining options from grant
679,399 options
Employee Stock Options outstanding after 70,000 exercised
Key Terms
Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, grantor retained annuity trust, Irrevocable GST Trust, Irrevocable Non-GST Trust, +2 more
6 terms
Rule 10b5-1 trading plan regulatory
"This exercise and subsequent sale were made pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted..."
A Rule 10b5-1 trading plan is a pre-arranged schedule that allows company insiders to buy or sell stock at specific times, even if they have inside information. It helps prevent accusations of unfair trading by making these transactions look planned and transparent, rather than sneaky or illegal.
grantor retained annuity trust financial
"These shares are held by a grantor retained annuity trust (the "GRAT")."
A grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT) is an estate-planning tool where the person who creates the trust transfers assets into it but receives fixed cash payments (an annuity) from the trust for a set number of years; whatever remains after that term passes to designated beneficiaries. It matters to investors because it can shift future appreciation of assets out of the creator’s taxable estate—like putting an asset into a timed vending machine that pays you fixed amounts while any extra value that grows inside the machine goes to heirs with reduced gift or estate tax consequences.
Irrevocable GST Trust financial
"These shares are held by the JGS 2018 Irrevocable GST Trust (the "GST Trust")."
Irrevocable Non-GST Trust financial
"These shares are held by the JGS 2018 Irrevocable Non-GST Trust (the "Non-GST Trust")."
Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy) financial
"Security title: Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy)"
beneficial ownership regulatory
"The Reporting Person disclaims beneficial ownership of these securities..."
Beneficial ownership means the person or entity that actually enjoys the benefits of owning shares or other assets — such as receiving dividends, voting rights, or price gains — even if the legal title is held in another name. For investors it matters because knowing who truly controls and profits from a company reveals who can influence decisions, exposes potential conflicts of interest or hidden concentration of power, and affects transparency and risk in the stock.
FAQ
What did Etsy (ETSY) executive chair Josh Silverman report in this Form 4?
Josh Silverman reported an option exercise and share sale. He exercised 70,000 employee stock options at $10.62 per share and sold 70,000 Etsy Common Stock shares at $65.00 per share, all under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted in November 2025.
What stock options did Josh Silverman exercise in the Etsy (ETSY) Form 4?
He exercised 70,000 employee stock options for Etsy Common Stock at an exercise price of $10.62 per share. These options are part of a grant that vested 25% on May 4, 2018, with the remainder vesting in 36 equal monthly installments thereafter.
Were Josh Silverman’s Etsy (ETSY) transactions made under a Rule 10b5-1 plan?
Yes. The filing states the option exercise and subsequent sale were made pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted on November 20, 2025. Such plans pre-schedule trades, indicating these transactions were arranged in advance rather than timed discretionarily.