Insider Trading 21 June 2013: Carl Icahn Buys $1 Billion of Dell

by Asif Suria

Insider buying increased with insiders purchasing $133.47 million of their stock last week compared to $22.81 million in the week prior. Selling increased slightly with insiders selling $1.29 billion of stock last week compared to $1.27 billion in the week prior. We excluded a nearly $1 billion purchase of Dell stock by Carl Icahn because the purchase was not an open-market purchase. Mr. Icahn acquired these shares from Southeastern Asset Management, thereby bumping his stake in Dell to 152 million shares or nearly 9% of the company.

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 down to 9.7. In other words, insiders sold more than 9 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 55.6.

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 21, 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 a 10,000 share purchase of biotech Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) by one of its directors, continued purchases of the regional bank Middleburg Financial Corporation (MBRG) by David Sokol, a purchase by the CFO of Vicor Corp (VICR) and a purchase by two insiders of Rentrak Corporation (RENT).

Given below are the top 5 insider purchases from last week.

1. Liberty Media Corporation (LMCA): $123.29

Chairman of the Board John C. Malone acquired 15,458 shares of this media and entertainment company, paying $129.37 per share for a total amount of $1.99 million. Mr. Malone increased his stake by 0.19% to 7,947,478 shares with this purchase.

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

2. Boston Properties Inc. (BXP): $101.94

Chief Executive Officer Owen D. Thomas acquired 9,002 shares of this office REIT, paying $111.10 per share for a total amount of $1 million.

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

3. Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. (SNTA): $4.33

Shares of this biotech company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Director Bruce Kovner acquired 200,000 shares, paying $4.00 per share for a total amount of $799,160. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.
• President and CEO Safi R. Bahcall acquired 10,000 shares, paying $4.05 per share for a total amount of $40,550. Mr. Bahcall increased his stake by 0.50% to 2,003,135 shares with this purchase.

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

4. Calamos Asset Management Inc. (CLMS): $10.51

Chairman, CEO, Global Co-CIO John P. Calamos Sr. acquired 47,899 shares of this asset management company, paying $10.60 per share for a total amount of $507,944. Mr. Calamos increased his stake by 3.49% to 1,421,781 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Calamos Asset Management Inc. here.

5. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (CTSH): $62.31

Director John E. Klein acquired 7,500 shares of this software services and consulting company, paying $62.78 per share for a total amount of $470,828. Mr. Klein increased his stake by 3.03% to 254,777 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. AMC Networks Inc. (AMCX): $63.44

Director Patrick Francis Dolan sold 300,000 shares of this cable TV channel operator for $62.50, generating $18.8 million from the sale.

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

2. Primoris Services Corporation (PRIM): $19.72

Chairman, CEO & President Brian Pratt sold 824,400 shares of this heavy construction company for $20.18, generating $16.6 million from the sale.

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

3. PVH Corp. (PVH): $121

Shares of this apparel company were sold by 6 insiders:

• CEO of Tommy Hilfiger Fred Gehring sold 40,902 shares for $125.13, generating $5.1 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by Elmira 5 B.V.
• CEO, Wholesale Apparel Francis K. Duane sold 35,875 shares for $121.77, generating $4.4 million from the sale. 26,875 of these shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• President, Calvin Klein Paul Thomas Murry sold 21,019 shares for $122.00, generating $2.6 million from the sale. 17,325 of these shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Director Helen McCluskey sold 15,000 shares for $123.57, generating $1,853,531 from the sale.
• Executive VP and CFO Michael A. Shaffer sold 13,325 shares for $121.60, generating $1.6 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• COO of Tommy Hilfiger Ludovicus Rudolph Onnink sold 8,242 shares for $125.05, generating $1,030,622 from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by Elmira 5 B.V.

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

4. Genesis Energy LP (GEL): $48.57

Director James E. Davison sold 265,000 shares of this oil & gas pipelines company for $51.61, generating $13.7 million from the sale.

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

5. Guidewire Software, Inc. (GWRE): $40.17

Shares of this insurance software company were sold by 3 insiders:

• CEO and President Marcus Ryu sold 130,000 shares for $41.92, generating $5.4 million from the sale.
• Director Neal Dempsey sold 100,000 shares for $41.46, generating $4.1 million from the sale.
• Director Steven M. Krausz sold 3,000 shares for $42.04, generating $126,127 from the sale.

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

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