High definition surveillance cameras rest in the foreground as an employee tests the focusing systems at the Avigilon factory in Richmond, British Columbia, Wednesday, May 2, 2012.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail
Avigilon, a Vancouver-based producer of high-definition surveillance cameras, has been through a weird couple of months. The formerly red hot stock plunged 45 per cent when Bradley Bardua, its chief financial officer, abruptly left the company due to a "personal health issue" the day before its quarterly earnings report in May. It was the third exit of a high-profile employee in six months, and the bad timing sparked investor concern. It was also a rude awakening for the tech darling, whose stock price that had sailed up 600 per cent since the company went public two years ago.
Throughout May, company insiders, including president and CEO Alexander Fernandes as well as the interim CFO, bought a small number of shares. The stock rose to about $23 per share from its low of $19 per share in the wake of the announcement.
The company also amended its employee stock plan Thursday, formally outlining how employees may be partly compensated through company shares.
The plan states its purpose is to help in "attracting, retaining, and motivating directors, offers, employees and consultants of the company" and to "closely align the personal interests" of employees with those of shareholders by giving them common shares. The amendment reduces the number of common shares issuable as options from 18 per cent of total outstanding share capital, to 10 per cent. According to a company spokesperson, this change puts the policy more in line with industry norms and is intended to protect shareholder value.
Editor's note: A version of this article previously published online stated that the company released its employee stock plan on Friday, June 27. In fact, it amended its existing employee stock plan. Also, the article implied that insider buying in May moved the stock price from $19 to $23. The actual amount of insider buying was not large enough in itself to account for the move.