Two days after Apple Computer announced its iPod Photo and U2 iPod, company Senior Vice President Ron Johnson reaped a US$9.6 million dollar profit on stock options last Thursday, as Appleis stock flirted with a new yearly high.

Mr. Johnson bought 300,000 shares of Apple stock on Oct. 28 for $18.59 and sold those same shares for $50.5875, taking home a pre-tax profit of $9,626,250.00, a filing made Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission revealed.

Had Mr. Johnson waited 24 hours, his selling price would have been closer to $53.20, which currently remains as Appleis 52-week high set on Oct. 29. As a result, Mr. Johnson lost in the neighborhood of $756,000 in additional profit. Company executives do not buy or sell shares at the same price as regular investors and are often offered more competitive pricing, depending on the compensation plan negotiated when they joined the company.

Mr. Johnson leads the development of Apple’s retail strategy and is responsible for its overall performance and execution. He joined Apple in January 2000 and reports directly to Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs. Before joining Apple, Mr. Johnson held various management positions at the Target Corporation, most recently as Vice President of Merchandising for Target Stores.

Ron Johnson sold 300,000 in Apple stock, making a $9.6 million profit.

As of late, a multitude of Apple execs have taken advantage of the companyis escalated stock price and sold well over a million shares, reaping more than $38 million in profit. As first reported by The Mac Observer on October 22, five Apple executives sold more than 830,000 shares of stock in the company, taking home more than US$29 million in profit in a seven day period.