Freshworks' founder Girish Mathrubootham sells shares worth $39M

Freshworks Founder and Executive Chairman, Girish Mathrubootham, has sold his shares worth approximately $39 million, according to the company’s filing in the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The filing reveals that Mathrubootham sold a combined total of over 2.5 million shares of Class A common stock through multiple transactions at weighted average prices ranging between $15.33 and $16.50 per share on December 18 and 19. The stocks were sold under SEC Rule 10b5-1.

Rule 10b5-1 is a regulation established by the SEC that allows corporate insiders, such as executives and directors, to set up a predetermined trading plan for buying or selling shares of their company.

This rule provides an affirmative defence against insider trading allegations. Under this rule, insiders can engage in transactions even if they possess material non-public information (MNPI) at the time of the trade, as long as the trades are executed according to a pre-established plan. This plan must be created in good faith when the insider is unaware of any material non-public information, and it must specify the amount, price, and date of the trades or provide a formula for determining these details.

Mathrubootham, who transitioned from CEO to Executive Chairman earlier this year, retains approximately 4% ownership in the company, and remains the largest individual shareholder with significant voting power.

Freshworks Inc. is currently trading at $15.33 per share. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has fluctuated between a low of $10.81 and a high of $24.34. Despite these movements, the stock has seen a decline of approximately 20.48% over the past year, down from $19.68 on December 12, 2023.

The software-as-a-Service major reported a 22% growth in revenue, climbing to $186.6 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024, up from $153.6 million in the same period last year.

The Nasdaq-listed company parred its losses by 3.55% to $29.9 million during the quarter under review, compared to $31 million in the previous year.