GameStop director Leonard Riggio has sold 2.3 million shares in the US retailer, worth $60.2 million.

Following the sale, Riggio holds 9.1 million shares, or a 5.5 per cent stake in the company. He is also the founder and chairman of Barnes & Noble, which once owned GameStop. He holds a 31 per cent stake in the firm valued at around $369.1 million.

Spokespeople for GameStop and Barnes & Noble told Barron's that Riggio sold the shares for tax planning reasons.

However, Form4Oracle analyst Alex Romayev said that Riggio's sale was a negative sign for GameStop, suggesting that the executive can’t be expecting the company’s stock to perform well. "Unless he desperately needs $60 million… He's got a lot bigger stake in Barnes & Noble. Clearly he thinks selling GameStop is better than selling Barnes & Noble."

Romayev said that the last time Riggio had a major non-options-related sale of GameStop back in late 2007, his timing helped him avoid a 62 per cent loss. At the time the retailer's shares were worth more than double the current value of the stock.