UPDATE 2-Jury finds no insider trading by former JDSU execs

(Recasts and adds, juror comment, background, byline)

By Amanda Beck

OAKLAND, Calif., Nov 27 (Reuters) - Four former executives of JDS Uniphase Corp (JDSU.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) did not commit securities fraud or engage in insider trading when they sold more than $350 million in JDSU stock before its price plunged in 2001, a U.S. jury said on Tuesday.

The jury gave its verdict after two days of deliberation in U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, where it heard nearly three weeks of testimony from witnesses including the former executives, who took the stand in their own defense.

The verdict was the culmination of nearly five years of litigation aimed at the company and its former officials: Kevin Kalkhoven and Jozef Straus, former chief executives; a former chief financial officer, Anthony Muller; and a former chief operating officer, Charles Abbe.

The suit alleged JDSU, a supplier of components of fiber optic telecom networks, and its executives cost shareholders $18 billion by painting a rosy financial picture of a company whose stock was set to plunge.

Barbara Hart, a lawyer for the shareholders, told Reuters it was too early to say if they would appeal the verdict.

The suit was a rarity, pitting former shareholders against the company in which they invested and the executives paid to run it. Only about 1 percent of securities class-actions go to trial because they are usually dismissed or settled.

Investors embraced JDS Uniphase during the dot-com boom but soured on it in 2001 as business spending on telecommunications gear stalled. The company rang up a staggering $50.6 billion net loss in fiscal 2001 and its shares dropped 99 percent.