Portfolio Recovery CEO Sells Shares in Planned Transaction

In an SEC filing Tuesday, debt purchasing heavyweight Portfolio Recovery Associates (Nasdaq: PRAA) disclosed that their CEO, Steve Fredrickson, had sold 7,500 shares of common stock in a transaction that had been prearranged since May 2006.

The sale of the stock, executed on January 5, was pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan dated May 31, 2006.  SEC Rule 10b5-1 allows a company officer to prearrange the sale of company stock and gives the officer the right to proceed with the sale even if material information that is not known to the public arises in the interim.

Fredrickson still controls more than 235,000 shares of his company’s stock after the sale.  The sale was made in separate blocks ranging in price from $46.44 to $46.88 per share.

In early trading on Tuesday, Portfolio Recovery’s share price was hovering just below $46 per share.