Corning's $6 Million Man

Corning (GLW Quote) chief Wendell Weeks is on a selling spree.

The CEO of the tech glassmaker has unloaded 464,024 shares via option exercises in the past two weeks, netting a profit of $6 million.

Weeks' cashout comes as Corning shares are within $2 of a 52-week low. An oversupply of liquid crystal display glass among makers of flat-panel TVs and computer monitors has helped undercut pricing and slowed Corning's LCD volume growth.

Shares of the big glassmaker have lost more than a third of their value since hitting a four-year high in April.

A Corning representative says the selling fits a pattern. The company encourages executives who are selling to do so shortly after quarterly earnings are released. Corning reported its latest numbers on July 25.

That said, none of the stock options were set to expire within two years. And unlike many leading execs, Weeks -- who made $2.6 million last year -- hasn't enrolled in a prearranged selling program. He continues to own more than 600,000 shares, according to data on Yahoo! Finance.

The so-called 10b5-1 plan is a popular tool that allows executives sell stock at predetermined times, dispelling any appearance of possible insider trading.

On the up side, Weeks' stock option-grant dates don't appear to coincide with any particularly low share prices. That could be of some relief to investors, given the ever-expanding backdating scandal.

Corning's CFO Jim Flaws addressed the backdating issue on the Corning, N.Y., company's second-quarter earnings conference call with analysts July 26.

"Our stock options are granted the same time each year," Flaws said. "For executives, stock options are approved at our December board meeting. Half are granted the day of the board meeting, a quarter granted the first business day of January and a quarter granted on the first business day of February."

Corning shares were up 30 cents to $18.12 Thursday.