Insider Trading 14 June 2013: Insider Selling Picks Up

by Asif Suria

Insider buying dropped sharply with insiders purchasing $22.81 million of their stock last week compared to $152.67 million in the week prior. Selling declined modestly with insiders selling $1.27 billion of stock last week compared to $1.31 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 55.6. 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 8.6.

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 June 14, 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:

Some of the insider purchases that did not make the top 5 list but are worth exploring include purchases by both the CEO and COO of Linn Energy (LINE),  additional purchases by the CEO of Calamos Asset Management (CLMS), a 20,000 share purchase by the CEO of Tronox (TROX) following a very sharp decline in the stock over the last 12 months and a purchase by a director of troubled for-profit education company Strayer Education (STRA). A word of caution about Linn Energy. Barron’s has been bearish on the name over the last few months as you can read here and here.

1. The Carlyle Group LP (CG): $26.8

Chief Operating Officer Glenn A. Youngkin acquired 150,000 shares of this investment firm, paying $26.88 per share for a total amount of $4.03 million.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for The Carlyle Group LP here.

2. PBF Energy Inc. (PBF): $26.54

Executive Chairman Malley Thomas acquired 100,000 shares of this oil & gas refining company, paying $27.00 per share for a total amount of $2.7 million. Mr. Thomas increased his stake by 175.64% to 156,936 shares with this purchase.

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

3. Atlas Resource Partners, L.P. (ARP): $22.49

Chairman and CEO Edward E. Cohen acquired 35,000 shares of this natural gas company, paying $21.75 per share for a total amount of $761,250. Mr. Cohen increased his stake by 13.71% to 290,344 shares with this purchase. 20,000 of these shares were purchased indirectly through a charitable foundation.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Atlas Resource Partners, L.P. here.

4. Envivio, Inc. (ENVI): $2.06

Shares of this video distribution technology company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Director Edward A. Gilhuly acquired 411,500 shares, paying $1.70 per share for a total amount of $698,700. These shares were purchased indirectly by Sageview Capital LP.
• Director Marcel Gani acquired 89,367 shares, paying $1.69 per share for a total amount of $150,610. Mr. Gani increased his stake by 840.47% to 100,000 shares with this purchase.

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

5. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $6.83

CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 107,000 shares of this medical devices and drug development company, paying $6.54 per share for a total amount of $700,011.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Conns Inc. (CONN): $51.58

Shares of this specialty retailer of home appliances were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Jon E. Jacoby sold 1,000,000 shares for $51.61, generating $51.6 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by SG-1890, LLC.
• President – Retail David W. Trahan sold 30,000 shares for $53.25, generating $1.6 million from the sale.

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

2. Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. (ENH): $50.62

Former Chief Executive Officer David S. Cash sold 468,403 shares of this property & casualty Insurance company for $50.44, generating $23.6 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. here.

3. Guidewire Software, Inc. (GWRE): $39.99

Shares of this insurance software company were sold by 4 insiders:

• Director Craig Ramsey sold 400,000 shares for $39.75, generating $15.9 million from the sale.
• Director Craig Conway sold 24,000 shares for $38.61, generating $926,738 from the sale.
• Director Clifton Thomas Weatherford sold 10,000 shares for $40.40, generating $403,974 from the sale.
• Director Guy Dubois sold 1,767 shares for $39.60, generating $69,982 from the sale. 1,360 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 Guidewire Software, Inc. here.

4. CVB Financial Corp. (CVBF): $11.05

Shares of this regional bank were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director George A. Borba Jr. sold 1,348,613 shares for $11.08, generating $14.9 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• Director San Vaccaro sold 58,469 shares for $11.53, generating $674,068 from the sale.

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

5. G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (GIII): $49

Shares of this apparel manufacturer were sold by 2 insiders:

• Chief Executive Officer Morris Goldfarb sold 269,688 shares for $49.32, generating $13.3 million from the sale.
• Director Thomas Brosig sold 2,600 shares for $49.62, generating $129,017 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. here.

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