Paul Pelosi, the husband of former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, recently bought up 5,000 shares of both Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) stock as a result of executing 50 call options. In a time when the stock market is experiencing surprising upward momentum, clearly even politicians (and their families) are trying to get in on the action.
According to a recently released regulatory disclosure, Pelosi executed 50 call options worth $2.6 million on June 15. Pelosi purchased these options back in May 2022. Because Pelosi purchased the shares via options, his gains also far outweighed the stocks’ pure price increase.
Indeed, Pelosi’s executed options resulted in a roughly 131% upside on Apple and an 83% gain on Microsoft. That’s despite the stocks climbing about 33% and 29% respectively since May 2022.
While Rep. Nancy Pelosi has long-maintained that her husband’s stock market activities are independent from her political insight, this certainly isn’t the first time the family has reaped sizable financial gains via equity markets. If you recall, back in July 2021, Pelosi famously cashed in on a $4.8 million profit on Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) stock “the week before the House Judiciary Committee advanced bipartisan antitrust bills targeting Google, Apple, and Amazon.”
Perhaps reasonably so, Nancy Pelosi has historically been one of the more profitable members of Congress. In 2021, Pelosi ranked second in Congress for number of options purchased, earning an average of 36.6%. That said, in recent years, Pelosi’s success has paled in comparison to some of her Capitol Hill colleagues.
Pelosi Cashes in on AAPL Stock Highs
Today’s news is particularly politically relevant, given the recent movement to regulate Congressional stock market engagement. Indeed, earlier this year, 78 Congress members were found to have failed to disclose their stock trades as dictated by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, otherwise known as the STOCK Act.
Fortunately (for the Congress members at least) the fine for violating the STOCK Act is often puny — frequently as small as $200, if lawmakers are fined at all. This has lead to movements banning any and all Congressional stock ownership, legislation that Pelosi has scoffed at publicly.
Pelosi’s recent stock purchases represent ideal timing once again. Indeed, AAPL stock recently surpassed its highest stock price ever, crossing $189 per share. MSFT stock is in the midst of a similar story, currently trading at around $336 and hot on the trail of its peak.
On the date of publication, Shrey Dua did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
