Insider Trading 17 May 2013: James R. Murdoch Selling News Corp. Shares

by Asif Suria

Insider buying decreased slightly with insiders purchasing $65.81 million of their stock last week compared to $66.13 million in the week prior. Selling increased with insiders selling $3.65 billion of stock last week compared to $2.06 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 increased to 55.43. In other words, insiders sold more than 55 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 31.13.

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 17, 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:

1. United States Steel Corp. (X): $18.32

Director Murry Gerber acquired 72,075 shares of this steel company, paying $18.99 per share for a total amount of $1.4 million. Mr. Gerber increased his stake by 156.13% to 118,237 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for United States Steel Corp. here.

2. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $7.16

CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 164,900 shares of this medical devices and drug development company, paying $6.95 per share for a total amount of $1.1 million. These shares were purchased indirectly  by Frost Gamma Investments Trust.

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

3. Luminex Corporation (LMNX): $18.41

Director Walter G. Loewenbaum II acquired 58,500 shares of this biological testing and diagnostics company, paying $18.26 per share for a total amount of $1,068,215. Mr. Loewenbaum increased his stake by 8.84% to 720,127 shares with this purchase.

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

4. MediciNova Inc. (MNOV): $3.54

Director Tatsuo Izumi acquired 158,730 shares of this biotech company, paying $3.15 per share for a total amount of $500,000. These shares were purchased indirectly by a Limited Liability Company.

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

5. Hecla Mining Co. (HL): $3.17

President & CEO Phillips S. Baker Jr. acquired 150,000 shares of this Idaho based mining company, paying $3.19 per share for a total amount of $478,260. Mr. Baker increased his stake by 19.20% to 931,432 shares with this purchase.

This is an interesting purchase given the recent drop in precious metal prices and the fact that Hecla is one of the largest and lowest-cost producers of primary silver in the United States.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Hecla Mining Co. here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Franklin Resources Inc. (BEN): $168.32

Vice Chairman Rupert H. Johnson Jr. sold 150,000 shares of this asset management company for $167.10, generating $25.1 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through an IRA.

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

2. News Corp. (NWS): $33.35

Dep. COO/Chair and CEO, Int’l James R. Murdoch sold 752,000 shares of this media company for $33.32, generating $25.1 million from the sale. 601,600 shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

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

3. 3D Systems Corp. (DDD): $46.66

Shares of this 3D printers company were sold by 4 insiders:

• President and CEO Abraham N. Reichental sold 400,000 shares for $40.00, generating $16 million from the sale.
• SVP, Chief Financial Officer Damon Joseph Gregoire sold 45,000 shares for $40.00, generating $1.8 million from the sale.
• Director Jim D. Kever sold 38,000 shares for $40.00, generating $1.5 million from the sale.
• Director Daniel Van Riper sold 17,220 shares for $45.80, generating $788,594 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for 3D Systems Corp. here.

4. Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFM): $103.77

Shares of this grocery chain were sold by 16 insiders:

• Chief Executive Officer John P. Mackey sold 100,000 shares for $101.41, generating $10.1 million from the sale.
• Director Jonathan A. Seiffer sold 25,000 shares for $102.10, generating $2.6 million from the sale.
• Chief Executive Officer Walter E. Robb IV sold 10,000 shares for $101.50, generating $1.02 million from the sale.
• Chief Financial Officer Glenda J. Flanagan sold 9,150 shares for $102.01, generating $933,400 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Regional President Laura A. Derba sold 3,526 shares for $102.26, generating $360,574 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Regional President Mark T. Dixon sold 3,464 shares for $102.42, generating $354,792 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• President and COO A. C. Gallo sold 3,210 shares for $100.90, generating $323,889 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Regional President Juan Nunez sold 2,625 shares for $101.00, generating $265,125 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Regional President Michael Bashaw sold 2,625 shares for $100.79, generating $264,569 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Director Gabrielle E. Greene sold 2,500 shares for $100.89, generating $252,235 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Director Shahid M. Hassan sold 2,500 shares for $100.82, generating $252,050 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Director Ralph Z. Sorenson sold 2,250 shares for $100.84, generating $226,897 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Regional President Patrick E. Bradley sold 2,225 shares for $103.00, generating $229,175 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Regional President Omar Gaye sold 2,060 shares for $102.31, generating $210,757 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• GVP of Legal Affairs & General Counsel Roberta Lang sold 1,153 shares for $102.76, generating $118,485 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Regional President Joseph Rogoff sold 1,034 shares for $101.68, generating $105,135 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 Whole Foods Market, Inc. here.

5. ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW): $40.39

Shares of this software-as-a-service provider were sold by 6 insiders:

• Director Charles Noell III sold 208,683 shares for $40.21, generating $8.4 million from the sale. 52,186 of these shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• Director Paul V. Barber sold 55,644 shares for $40.07, generating $2.2 million from the sale. 8,814 of these shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• SVP Worldwide Sales & Services David Schneider sold 32,500 shares for $40.40, generating $1.3 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• SVP, Development & Customer Support Daniel McGee sold 30,000 shares for $40.52, generating $1.2 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• CFO Michael Scarpelli sold 20,000 shares for $39.78, generating $795,534 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Director Ronald E. Codd sold 20,000 shares for $40.00, generating $800,000 from the sale.

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

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