I think what many people do not focus on is that grants are typically made to all eligible employees at the same time, so that when the CEO gets a grant, so typically do middle managers and engineers and others. For the latter group, a key element in equity grants is the retention value of those grants. It is good for morale and retention for option grants to be in the money. For that reason, even if not technically springloading, companies often chose to grant options at times that management and the board thought the stock was undervalued.

In today’s climate, behavior has changed. Companies are moving away from options to restricted stock grants (Query whether that is really better for stockholders?) and to grant dates specified well in advance that typically occur during open window periods. It will be interesting to see where grant practice settles out after the current hysteria dies away and whether five years from now there has been any noticeable effect on corporate performance.