Insider Trading 21 December 2012: Liberty Media Corporation Big Purchaser

by Asif Suria

Insider buying increased with insiders purchasing $119.29 million of their stock last week compared to $88.61 million in the week prior. Selling also increased  with insiders selling $2.82 billion of stock last week compared to $2.12 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 dropped slightly to 23.67. In other words, insiders sold almost 24 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 23.96.

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 20, 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 a second 50,000 share purchase by the CEO of scientific instruments company Bruker Corporation (BRKR), a 9,000 share purchase by the CEO of United Therapeutics (UTHR) and a cluster purchase by multiple insiders of aerospace products company Heico (HEI, HEI-A).

1. Liberty Media Corporation (LMCA): $114.98

Chairman of the Board John C. Malone acquired 490,597 series B shares of this media and entertainment company, paying $115.00 per share for a total amount of $56.42 million.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Liberty Media Corporation here.

2. Lawson Products Inc. (LAWS): $9.54

Director Ronald B. Port acquired 584,677 shares of this industrial equipment company, paying $8.68 per share for a total amount of $5.07 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through trusts.

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

3. NGL Energy Partners LP (NGL): $21.57

CEO & CFO Michael H. Krimbill acquired 150,000 shares of this propane and natural gas company, paying $21.80 per share for a total amount of $3.27 million. Mr. Krimbill increased his stake by 300% to 200,000 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for NGL Energy Partners LP here.

4. Santarus, Inc. (SNTS): $11.2

Director Ted W. Love acquired 185,000 shares of this specialty biopharmaceutical company, paying $10.88 per share for a total amount of $2.01 million. Mr. Love increased his stake by 122.92% to 335,500 shares with this purchase.

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

5. NuStar GP Holdings, LLC (NSH): $28.86

Director William E. Greehey acquired 63,500 shares of this oil storage and pipeline company, paying $28.61 per share for a total amount of $1.82 million. Mr. Greehey increased his stake by 0.81% to 7,944,177 shares with this purchase.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Devon Energy Corporation (DVN): $53.46

Executive Chairman Larry J. Nichols sold 958,038 shares of this independent oil and natural gas company for $52.19, generating $50 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Devon Energy Corporation here.

2. IPG Photonics Corporation (IPGP): $64.89

CEO & Chairman of the Board Valentin P. Gapontsev sold 890,000 shares of this optical fiber-based lasers company for $54.00, generating $48.06 million from the sale. 147,080 of these shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for IPG Photonics Corporation here.

3. Intuit Inc. (INTU): $61.44

Chairman of Executive Committee Scott D. Cook sold 399,999 shares of this accounting and tax software company for $61.86, generating $24.74 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by trusts.

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

4. Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (SPB): $44

Shares of this consumer products company were sold by 5 insiders:

• CEO and President GB&PC H&G David R. Lumley sold 222,927 shares for $44.11, generating $9.83 million from the sale.
• President, Global Pet Supplies John Heil sold 173,885 shares for $43.89, generating $7.63 million from the sale.
• EVP, CFO and CAO Anthony L. Genito sold 72,038 shares for $44.94, generating $3.24 million from the sale.
• President, Global Appliances Terry Polistina sold 69,642 shares for $44.94, generating $3.13 million from the sale.
• SVP and General Counsel Nathan E. Fagre sold 3,454 shares for $44.00, generating $151,976 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. here.

5. Comcast Corporation (CMCSA): $37.23

Chairman of Board, Pres. & CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 529,000 shares of this entertainment and telecommunications provider for $36.51, generating $19,31 million from the sale.

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

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

Voluntary Disclosure: I hold a long position in United Therapeutics (UTHR)