In a loss for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a federal jury on Friday found the former chief executive of sTec not liable for trading on inside information ahead of a secondary stock offering.

Manouchehr Moshayedi, a co-founder of the computer storage device company, was cleared of engaging in insider trading on non-public information about a major customer's drop in demand for a key product, enabling him and his brother to reap about $260 million.