Insider Trading 19 July 2013: Navistar Buying by Carl Icahn

by Asif Suria

Insider buying increased with insiders purchasing $124.18 million of their stock last week compared to $16.8 million in the week prior. Selling also increased with insiders selling $1.25 billion of stock last week compared to $441.82 million in the week prior. A large part of the insider buying was driven by a total of $70 million in purchases of truck manufacturer Navistar International (NAV) by Carl Icahn and his former protege Mark Rachesky. It was interesting to watch both of them doubling down on their Navistar investment late last year even as the stock dipped into the high teens.

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 10.08. In other words, insiders sold more than 10 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 26.3.

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 19, 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. Walgreen Co. (WAG): $50.61

Director and Italian Billionaire Stefano Pessina acquired 34,439 shares of this drug store chain, paying $45.77 per share for a total amount of $1.6 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by a corporation controlled by Mr. Pessina.

Walgreens acquired a 45% stake in Mr. Pessina’s company Alliance Boots last year for $6.7 billion in cash.

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

2. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $7.72

CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 73,700 shares of this medical devices and drug development company, paying $7.37 per share for a total amount of $543,132. 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. Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania (UVSP): $20.48

Director Thomas Scannapieco acquired 17,480 shares of this regional bank, paying $17.07 per share for a total amount of $298,334. These shares were purchased indirectly by Mr. Scannapieco’s spouse. These are old transactions that were made earlier this year but reported to the SEC last week.

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

4. The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW): $21.68

Director Stephen A. Ellis acquired 11,665 shares of this investment brokerage, paying $21.45 per share for a total amount of $250,162. Mr. Ellis increased his stake by 265.05% to 16,066 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for The Charles Schwab Corporation here.

5. Mannatech, Incorporated (MTEX): $12.81

Shares of this personal care products company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Director Robert Toth acquired 5,000 shares, paying $11.80 per share for a total amount of $58,999. Mr. Toth increased his stake by 50% to 15,000 shares with this purchase.
• Director Gerald E. Gilbert acquired 3,500 shares, paying $12.90 per share for a total amount of $45,147. Mr. Gilbert increased his stake by 140% to 6,000 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Mannatech, Incorporated here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. EPAM Systems, Inc. (EPAM): $29.04

CEO, President, Chairman Arkadiy Dobkin sold 237,743 shares of this software development services company for $28.80, generating $6.8 million from the sale.

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

2. Liberty Interactive Corporation (LINTA): $24.37

Director Michael A. George sold 103,684 shares of this video and online commerce company for $26.67, generating $2.8 million from the sale.

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

3. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM): $56.16

Shares of JPMorgan were sold by 5 insiders:

• Managing Director Mary E. Erdoes sold 29,000 shares for $56.31, generating $1.6 million from the sale.
• Executive Vice President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 20,000 shares for $54.65, generating $1.1 million from the sale.
• Chairman of Risk John James Hogan sold 18,934 shares for $55.12, generating $1.04 million from the sale.
• Chief Risk Officer Ashley Bacon sold 16,693 shares for $56.44, generating $942,153 from the sale.
• Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake sold 8,940 shares for $55.13, generating $492,885 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 JPMorgan Chase & Co. here.

4. Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (PCRX): $35.23

Shares of this pharmaceutical company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Andreas Wicki sold 128,482 shares for $32.16, generating $4.1 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by HBM Healthcare Investments
• Vice President, Commercial Taunia Markvicka sold 29,754 shares for $32.00, generating $952,128 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 Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. here.

5. Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. (RGR): $49.07

Group Vice President Mark Lang sold 70,000 shares of this firearms manufacturer for $50.54, generating $3.5 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. here.

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