Insider Trading 14 December 2012: Selling by Garmin, Simon Property Group

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 December 14, 2012

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:

Beyond the top 5 insider purchases listed below, other insider purchases that did not make the cut but are worth looking into include the 50,000 share purchase by the CEO of scientific instruments company Bruker Corporation (BRKR), the cluster purchase by three insiders of women’s clothing retailer Francesca’s Holdings (FRAN) and a purchase by the CFO of Audience (ADNC).

1. NuStar GP Holdings, LLC (NSH): $28.53

Director William E. Greehey acquired 134,100 shares of this oil storage and pipeline company, paying $27.83 per share for a total amount of $3.73 million. Mr. Greehey increased his stake by 1.73% to 7,880,677 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for NuStar GP Holdings, LLC here.

2. Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. (ININ): $29.97

Director Mark E. Hill acquired 31,350 shares of this software solutions and unified communications provider, paying $30.81 per share for a total amount of $965,926. Mr. Hill increased his stake by 34.52% to 122,172 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. here.

3. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $4.62

CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 205,000 shares of this medical devices and drug development company, paying $4.45 per share for a total amount of $912,486. These shares were purchased indirectly by Frost Gamma Investments Trust.

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

4. Synergy Resources Corporation (SYRG): $4.7

Director George L. Seward acquired 202,329 shares of this oil and natural gas exploration company, paying $4.42 per share for a total amount of $894,283. Mr. Seward increased his stake by 16.22% to 1,449,990 shares with this purchase. 170,000 of these shares were purchased indirectly by A&S Genetics, a general partnership over which Mr. Seward has investment control.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Synergy Resources Corporation here.

5. AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AVEO): $7.09

Shares of this biotech company were acquired by 3 insiders:

• Chief Executive Officer Tuan Ha-Ngoc acquired 75,000 shares, paying $6.65 per share for a total amount of $498,955. Mr. Ha increased his stake by 31.30% to 314,640 shares with this purchase.
• Director Henri A. Termeer acquired 44,501 shares, paying $6.60 per share for a total amount of $293,493.
• Director Robert C. Young acquired 2,371 shares, paying $6.78 per share for a total amount of $16,064. Mr. Young increased his stake by 42.05% to 8,010 shares with this purchase.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Simon Property Group Inc. (SPG): $154.05

Director Herbert Simon sold 928,200 shares of this shopping center REIT for $149.75, generating $138.99 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Simon Property Group Inc. here.

2. Garmin Ltd. (GRMN): $40.68

Chief Executive Officer Min H. Kao sold 1,589,622 shares of this GPS manufacturer for $41.71, generating $66.31 million from the sale. 589,622 of these shares were sold indirectly by Mr. Kao’s children.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Garmin Ltd. here.

3. Stericycle, Inc. (SRCL): $93.26

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

• Director Jack W. Schuler sold 198,442 shares for $93.74, generating $18.6 million from the sale.
• Chairman & CEO Mark C. Miller sold 100,000 shares for $94.55, generating $9.45 million from the sale. 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 Stericycle, Inc. here.

4. USANA Health Sciences Inc. (USNA): $38.42

Shares of this nutritional and personal care products company were sold by 3 insiders:

• Director Myron W. Wentz sold 464,050 shares for $43.27, generating $20.08 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by Gull Holdings, Ltd., an entity owned and controlled by Dr. Myron W. Wentz.
• Director Ronald S. Poelman sold 5,000 shares for $43.17, generating $215,846 from the sale.
• Director Jerry G. McClain sold 200 shares for $42.99, generating $8,598 from the sale.

Usana’s stock was down more than 8% on Friday after the COO resigned and the CFO stepped down. USANA numbers looked so good that I decided to dig a little under the surface and came across this research report by Citron research published last month about the company.  Fortune Magazine had a very interesting article about another personal care products MLM company titled Nu Skin and the short-sellers that is also well worth a read.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for USANA Health Sciences Inc. here.

5. Epoch Investment Partners, Inc. (EPHC): $27.85

Director Jeffrey L. Berenson sold 600,000 shares of this asset management company for $27.75, generating $16.65 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Epoch Investment Partners, Inc. here.

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