SoundHound AI's COO Sells 65K Shares
This AI voice platform provider to enterprise clients reported notable insider sales amid a challenging year for its shares.
By CFA, Lawrence Rothman
Chief Operating Officer Sells 65K Shares for $485K
This AI voice platform provider to enterprise clients reported a notable insider sale amid a challenging year for its shares.
Michael Zagorsek, Chief Operating Officer of SoundHound AI (SOUN 4.29%), disclosed the direct sale of 64,994 shares for a total value of approximately $485,000 on June 15, according to a SEC Form 4 filing.
Transaction summary
Transaction value based on SEC Form 4 reported price ($7.46); post-transaction value based on June 15 market close ($7.33).
Key questions
How does this sale compare to Michael Zagorsek’s recent trading activity?Since December 2024, Zagorsek has made seven sales, with this transaction’s size (~65,000 shares) closely matching the average sell-only event (~47,000 shares), reflecting a consistent disposition strategy as direct holdings have declined.What proportion of total direct holdings was affected by this transaction?The sale represented 3.8% of direct holdings at the time, a moderate portion that aligns with the scale of prior sell events and leaves the majority of the executive’s direct equity interest intact.Were indirect or derivative securities involved in this transaction?No indirect holdings or derivative awards were sold or exercised; all shares disposed were held directly, and Zagorsek retains no indirect or derivative exposure post-transaction.What is the ongoing equity exposure for the insider following this transaction?Post-sale, Zagorsek maintains 1,669,497 shares of Class A Common Stock, providing continued alignment with shareholders and significant residual equity capacity for future liquidity events.
Company overview
Company snapshot
SoundHound A. operates within the voice AI sector, leveraging a comprehensive technology stack to deliver tailored conversational solutions. The company’s strategy centers on providing flexible, domain-specific voice platforms that can be deeply integrated into client ecosystems. I
Offers a proprietary AI voice platform (Houndify) featuring automatic speech recognition, natural language understanding, custom wake words, text-to-speech synthesis, and embedded voice solutions.Generates revenue primarily through licensing its voice AI technology and providing enterprise solutions to brands integrating conversational interfaces into their products and services.Targets enterprise clients across industries such as automotive, consumer electronics, and customer service, enabling them to deploy advanced voice-enabled experiences for end users.
What this transaction means for investors
COO Michael Zagorsek’s share sales, although not a large percentage of his total holdings, send a cautionary signal. That’s because a number of senior executives, including CEO Keyvan Mohajer, sold SoundHound AI shares.
The other senior executes reporting sales include the chief technology officer, chief product officer, and the chief science officer. Notably, none of the shares were sold under 10b5-1 trading plans, which outline sales activity, including timing, ahead of time.
The executives’ transactions come as the shares have woefully underperformed small-cap stocks, as measured by the Russell 2000 index. SoundHound AI’s shares lost 30.7% over the last year, through June 22. During this span, the Russell 2000 returned 44.2%, including dividends.
Looking at results, SoundHound AI lost $25 million in the first quarter under generally accepted accounting principles compared to a $129.9 million profit in the year-ago period. The company reports second-quarter results in early August.