Securities Law
New Backdating Allegations
Lawsuits filed by shareholders of Citrix Systems in a Florida federal court contend the software company granted backdated stock options that gave windfalls to company executives.
The company has notified the Securities and Exchange Commission it is investigating its practices regarding grants of stock options, the Daily Business Review reports.
“In a striking pattern that could not have been the result of chance, the [Citrix] Compensation Committee awarded stock option grants that were dated just before a substantial rise in Citrix’s stock price,” one complaint says.
The publication says the crackdown on backdating of stock options began last year after University of Iowa professor Erik Lie showed that the practice had become widespread.
