Insider Trading 12 July 2013: Facebook, EPAM Insiders Selling

by Asif Suria

Insider buying decreased sharply with insiders purchasing $16.8 million of their stock last week compared to $105.15 million in the week prior. Selling on the other hand increased slightly with insiders selling $441.82 million of stock last week compared to $434.02 million in the week prior. The insider buying included an additional $12.59 million purchase of DaVita HealthCare Partners (DVA) by a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A), which follows a $73.52 million purchase last week. Some of the weakness in insider buying could be attributed to the start of the second quarter earnings season.

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 26.3. In other words, insiders sold more than 26 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 4.1. 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 July 12, 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. VeriFone Systems, Inc. (PAY): $17.76

Director Jeffrey E. Stiefler acquired 27,900 shares of this payment systems provider, paying $17.89 per share for a total amount of $499,131. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

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

2. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $7.46

CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 67,100 shares of this medical devices and drug development company, paying $7.21 per share for a total amount of $483,593. 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. Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. (ENH): $52.97

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer John Charman acquired 8,175 shares of this property & casualty insurance company, paying $51.30 per share for a total amount of $419,389. Mr. Charman increased his stake by 1.16% to 713,445 shares with this purchase. These shares were purchased indirectly through various trusts and entities.

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

4. Breitburn Energy Partners L.P. (BBEP): $17.97

Shares of this oil & gas company were acquired by 3 insiders:

• EVP, General Counsel Gregory C. Brown acquired 16,000 shares, paying $15.07 per share for a total amount of $241,120. Mr. Brown increased his stake by 6.73% to 253,910 shares with this purchase.
• CFO and Executive V.P. James G. Jackson acquired 10,000 shares, paying $15.25 per share for a total amount of $152,500. Mr. Jackson increased his stake by 4.22% to 247,089 shares with this purchase.
• Director John R. Butler Jr. acquired 1,535 shares, paying $16.20 per share for a total amount of $24,867. Mr. Butler increased his stake by 2.59% to 60,836 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Breitburn Energy Partners L.P. here.

5. AGCO Corporation (AGCO): $54.33

Director Mallika Srinivasan acquired 8,300 shares of this farm & construction machinery company, paying $49.98 per share for a total amount of $414,834. These shares were purchased indirectly by TAFE Motors and Tractors Limited.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. EPAM Systems, Inc. (EPAM): $28.72

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

• CEO, President, Chairman Arkadiy Dobkin sold 283,554 shares for $27.91, generating $7.9 million from the sale.
• President of EU Operations,EVP Karl Robb sold 23,000 shares for $28.05, generating $645,150 from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by Landmark Business Development Limited.
• Sr. VP, CFO, Treasurer Ilya Cantor sold 1,969 shares for $27.14, generating $53,439 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 EPAM Systems, Inc. here.

2. Middleby Corp. (MIDD): $183.56

CEO, Chairman, President Selim A. Bassoul sold 38,598 shares of this commercial food equipment company for $179.51, generating $6.9 million from the sale.

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

3. Facebook, Inc. (FB): $25.91

Shares of Facebook were sold by 4 insiders:

• Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg sold 176,452 shares for $25.65, generating $4.5 million from the sale.
• VP Marketing & Business Part. David B. Fischer sold 24,000 shares for $25.31, generating $607,560 from the sale.
• VP, General Counsel & Secretary Colin Stretch sold 2,019 shares for $25.08, generating $50,637 from the sale.
• Chief Accounting Officer Jas Athwal sold 125 shares for $25.55, generating $3,194 from the sale.

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

4. New York Community Bancorp Inc. (NYCB): $14.6

Director Max L. Kupferberg sold 330,000 shares of this savings & loans company for $14.47, generating $4.8 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for New York Community Bancorp Inc. here.

5. Gulfmark Offshore, Inc. (GLF): $49.01

Former Director Robert Millard sold 80,500 shares of this offshore drilling services company for $48.24, generating $3.9 million from the sale.

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

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