Cell Therapeutics CEO Sells Stock: BioBuzz

SEATTLE, Wash. (TheStreet) -- I ran into Cell Therapeutics'(CTIC Quote) CEO Jim Bianco at an investor conference Wednesday, exchanged pleasantries and asked him how he was doing.

"Oh you know, surviving," he said.

Well, Bianco is selling himself short. A stock sale Friday shows him to be doing much better than just surviving.

Bianco sold just over 1.36 million shares of Cell Therapeutics stock on Friday at $1.43 a share, according to a Form 4 filed late Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Gross proceeds: $1.95 million.

On Wednesday, Bianco made a pitch to institutional investors attending the conference in New York. The future of Cell Therapeutics was bright, he said. But if that's the case, why did Bianco sell 30% of his current stock holdings in the company just two days later?

Bianco's sale was a "personal financial decision," said company spokesman Dan Eramian, via email. "I understand he has made commitments to charities and schools hurt by the recession -- something he wanted to do."

Cell Therapeutics shares closed Friday at $1.42.

Osiris Holds News of CFO Exit

Osiris Therapeutics(OSIR Quote) CFO Richard Hunt resigned last week on the same day that the company announced the failure of two pivotal studies involving its stem cell drug Prochymal.

Hunt exited Osiris to "pursue new professional opportunities" on Tues. Sept. 8, yet Osiris held the news until late Friday afternoon, disclosing his departure in an 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Way to keep the bad news under wraps, guys! (Why does the image of rats fleeing a sinking ship come to mind?)