Options Trading Tutorial

I'm leaving my job for another company. I have stock options and restricted stock, should I sell it?

The stock is at $50.00. I've lost money on most of the options.

Public Comments

1. sell while you still can.
2. It depends on how you think the company will do. If you think the company has bright prospects stick with it, if not dump the shares. You may also want to sell some in order to diversify if most of your holdings are in that company's stock/options.
3. Someone in a high enough position to be getting options and grants probably should be getting financial advice somewhere other than yahoo answers.
4. Despite the fact that one of the answers states you should have received free financial advise from your company, that statement is simply not applicable to real life. Talent comes with a price. If companies want to retain talented individuals, regardless of the "level", they have to compete for that talent. And one of the ways companis lure and retain that talent is through compensation plans that grant stock options and restricted stock. So, you SHOULDN'T expect free advise from your company in terms of how to treat your compensation. The most companies do is suggest you consult with your accountant or tax advisor. So, that is my recommendatio to you. Go talk with your tax avisor. I have absolutely no way on making a rational suggestion on how to treat your options/restricted stock, as both have tax implications, that are also affected by your marital status, bracket, etc. What I can offer though, is a few ideas on the matter so you can go and Google this stuff further. The options may not have any value to you unless they are vested (available to be bought and/or sold). If they are not vested, then they are worthless. If they are vested, then the strike price (the one price at which the options were given to you), needs to be LOWER than the current price, otherwise they are also worthless. In the case of restricted stock, a different approach is taken by the company. It's basically a set of free stock you are given, but you can only sell them on a certain date. Since this is actual money given to you (although in the form of a security), on the vest date you are taxed on the full dollar amount of the grant. If your restricted stock is vested, you already paid the taxes. If the stock is lower now than the date they vested, then you may want to sell ASAP and cut your losses. Please also bear in mind that vested restricted stock is something you already own. You don't need to sell before leaving the company.