Insider Trading 22 March 2013: Insider Purchase of Churchill Downs

by Asif Suria

Insider buying decreased with insiders purchasing $13.6 million of their stock last week compared to $28.29 million in the week prior. Selling also decreased with insiders selling $1.19 billion of stock last week compared to $2.86 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 to 87.1. In other words, insiders sold more than 87 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 100.91.

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 March 22, 2013

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 cluster purchase of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) by 5 insiders and a 50,000 share purchase by the CEO of Chiquita Brands (CQB).

1. Churchill Downs Inc. (CHDN): $69.73

Director Richard L. Duchossois acquired 16,573 shares of this horse racing and casino gaming company, paying $66.97 per share for a total amount of $1.1 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

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

2. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $7.63

Shares of this medical devices and drug development company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 116,800 shares, paying $7.43 per share for a total amount of $868,155.These shares were purchased indirectly  by Frost Gamma Investments Trust.
• Director Richard A. Lerner acquired 13,100 shares, paying $7.63 per share for a total amount of $99,953. These shares were purchased indirectly by Dr. Lerner’s spouse through an IRA.

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

3. Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. (ULTA): $77.52

Director Charles J. Philippin acquired 10,000 shares of this beauty products retailer, paying $75.44 per share for a total amount of $754,400. Mr. Philippin increased his stake by 13.06% to 86,559 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. here.

4. Park-Ohio Holdings Corp. (PKOH): $30.48

CEO, COB Edward F. Crawford acquired 20,000 shares of this manufacturing and logistics services provider, paying $27.94 per share for a total amount of $558,773. Mr. Crawford increased his stake by 1.41% to 1,435,016 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Park-Ohio Holdings Corp. here.

5. GrafTech International Ltd. (GTI): $7.45

Shares of this graphite materials company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Chairman, CEO & President Craig S. Shular acquired 40,000 shares, paying $7.32 per share for a total amount of $292,800. Mr. Shular increased his stake by 9.57% to 458,159 shares with this purchase.
• VP & CFO Lindon G. Robertson acquired 14,000 shares, paying $7.27 per share for a total amount of $101,780.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (SSNC): $29.64

Shares of this software products and services company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Chairman of the Board & CEO William C. Stone sold 1,250,000 shares for $25.80, generating $32.25 million from the sale.
• SVP and CFO Patrick J. Pedonti sold 20,000 shares for $28.82, generating $576,400 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 SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. here.

2. Proto Labs, Inc. (PRLB): $46.81

Shares of this molded plastic parts producer were sold by 2 insiders:

• President and CEO Bradley A. Cleveland sold 500,000 shares for $45.87, generating $22.94 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through various trusts.
• Chief Operating Officer Donald G. Krantz sold 48,000 shares for $46.85, generating $2.25 million from the sale.

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

3. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW): $54.52

Shares of this network security company were sold by 4 insiders:

• Director Asheem Chandna sold 150,000 shares for $55.04, generating $8.26 million from the sale. 17,952 of these shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• CTO Nir Zuk sold 30,000 shares for $56.21, generating $1.69 million from the sale.
• VP, Engineering Rajiv Batra sold 30,000 shares for $55.97, generating $1.68 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• President & CEO Mark D. McLaughlin sold 22,732 shares for $56.35, generating $1.28 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 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. here.

4. Ocwen Financial Corp. (OCN): $34.99

Director Barry N. Wish sold 297,400 shares of this mortgage servicing company for $40.72, generating $12.1 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by Wishco Inc.

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

5. Ross Stores Inc. (ROST): $59.21

Vice Chairman and CEO Michael Balmuth sold 177,910 shares of this discount apparel company for $55.93, generating $9.95 million from the sale.

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

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