Insider Trading 23 May 2014: Apollo Global and Primoris Services Selling

by Asif Suria

Insider buying came back to earth with insiders buying $73.08 million of stock compared to the $223.51 million binge in the week prior. Selling also declined with insiders selling $1.51 billion of stock last week compared to $2.04 billion in the week prior.

Sell/Buy Ratio: The insider Sell/Buy ratio is calculated by dividing the total insider sales in a given week by total insider purchases that week. The adjusted ratio for last week went up to 20.69. In other words, insiders sold almost 21 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 9.16.

We are calculating an adjusted ratio by removing transactions by funds and companies and trying as best as possible only to retain information about insiders and 10% owners who are not funds or companies.

Insider Sell Buy Ratio May 23, 2014

Note: As mentioned in the first post in this series, certain industries have their preferred metrics such as same store sales for retailers,funds from operations (FFO) for REITs and revenue per available room (RevPAR) for hotels that provide a better basis for comparison than simple valuation metrics. However metrics like Price/Earnings, Price/Sales and Enterprise Value/EBITDA included below should provide a good starting point for analyzing the majority of stocks.

Notable Insider Buys:

1. Continental Resources, Inc. (CLR): $137.36

CEO & Chairman Harold Hamm acquired 42,300 shares of this independent oil & gas company, paying $134.46 per share for a total amount of $5.69 million. Mr. Hamm increased his stake by 0.03% to 126,442,191 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Continental Resources, Inc. here.

2. TrueCar, Inc. (TRUE): $9.22

CEO & Chairman of the Board Scott Painter acquired 166,600 shares of this online car shopping company, paying $9.00 per share for a total amount of $1.49 million. Mr. Painter increased his stake by 11.12% to 1,664,176 shares with this purchase.

This appears to be an IPO related purchase and we normally tend to exclude IPO related buying and selling. However this particular IPO caught my eye as I recently got to use TrueCar’s website when looking for a new car. Their goal of providing price transparency to consumers is a welcome relief for car shoppers and it looks like they have managed to sign up a large number of dealers despite early resistance from dealers.

While the company is unprofitable, revenues were up 75% last quarter and the business model appears to be scalable. Market response to the IPO has been lack luster with the company dropping its offering price to $9 from an earlier range of $12 to $14 per share. A nearly 12% first day pop in the price to $10.02 has since faded and the stock is close to its IPO price again.

I plan on exploring the company further and might pick up a small position to give my portfolio some exposure to a high growth company that is providing a valuable service.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for TrueCar, Inc. here.

3. Citigroup Inc. (C): $47.29

Director William S. Thompson acquired 21,460 common stock shares of this investment bank, paying $46.6 per share for a total amount of $1 million. He also acquired 18,768 Series K Depositary shares, paying $26.7 per share for a total amount of $501,105.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Citigroup Inc. here.

4. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (KTOS): $8.17

Director William A. Hoglund acquired 200,000 shares of this security & protection services provider, paying $7.24 per share for a total amount of $1.45 million.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. here.

5. Lehigh Gas Partners LP (LGP): $26.25

Director John F. Malloy acquired 46,770 shares of this wholesale distributor of motor fuels, paying $26.87 per share for a total amount of $1.26 million. Mr. Malloy increased his stake by 291.29% to 62,826 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Lehigh Gas Partners LP here.

You can view the full list of purchases from this Insider Buying page.

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Apollo Global Management, LLC (APO): $24.71

Shares of this investment manager were sold by 3 insiders:

• Senior Managing Director Marc J. Rowan sold 1,807,871 shares for $24.47, generating $44.24 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by MJR Foundation AC.
• Chief Financial Officer Martin Kelly sold 8,032 shares for $25.04, generating $201,105 from the sale.
• Managing Dir – Credit James C. Zelter sold 3,542 shares for $25.03, generating $88,653 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Apollo Global Management, LLC here.

2. Primoris Services Corporation (PRIM): $28.51

Chairman, CEO & President Brian Pratt sold 745,000 shares of this heavy construction company for $28.15, generating $20.97 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Primoris Services Corporation here.

3. Jarden Corp. (JAH): $57.39

Shares of this consumer products company were sold by 3 insiders:

• Executive Chairman Martin E. Franklin sold 133,000 shares for $56.11, generating $7.46 million from the sale.
• Vice Chairman, President, CFO Ian G. Ashken sold 60,000 shares for $56.11, generating $3.37 million from the sale.
• Chief Executive Officer James E. Lillie sold 45,000 shares for $56.11, generating $2.53 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Jarden Corp. here.

4. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (AMP): $110.93

Shares of this asset management company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Chairman and CEO James M. Cracchiolo sold 67,298 shares for $110.63, generating $7.45 million from the sale.
• CEO, Global Asset Management William F. Truscott sold 17,000 shares for $109.40, generating $1.86 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by an LLC.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Ameriprise Financial, Inc. here.

5. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII): $98.62

Shares of this ship building company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Corp. VP, Strategic Projects Irwin F. Edenzon sold 46,701 shares for $96.06, generating $4.49 million from the sale. 12,344 of these shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Corp. VP, Communications Jerri F. Dickseski sold 12,231 shares for $97.08, generating $1.19 million from the sale. 3,305 of these shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. here.

You can view the full list of sales from this Insider Sales page.

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