Insider Trading 02 August 2013: Amazon Chairman Sells $185 million of Shares

by Asif Suria

Insider buying increased with insiders purchasing $110.7 million of their stock last week compared to $30.91 million in the week prior. Selling also increased with insiders selling $2.21 billion of stock last week compared to $2.02 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 decreased to 19.92. In other words, insiders sold almost 20 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 65.4.

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 August 2,2013

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. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX): $29.2

Shares of this mining company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Chairman of the Board James R. Moffett acquired 1,000,000 shares, paying $28.53 per share for a total amount of $28.53 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Limited Partnerships.
• Vice Chairman of the Board James C. Flores acquired 517,350 shares, paying $28.65 per share for a total amount of $14.82 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Limited Partnerships.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. here.

2. Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR): $15.74

Shares of this oil & gas drilling contractor were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Director John P. Kotts acquired 120,000 shares, paying $14.95 per share for a total amount of $1.79 million. Mr. Kotts increased his stake by 444.44% to 147,000 shares with this purchase.
• Director Howard Wolf acquired 7,000 shares, paying $14.78 per share for a total amount of $103,474. Mr. Wolf increased his stake by 18.42% to 45,000 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Nabors Industries Ltd. here.

3. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL): $39.09

Chairman & CEO Richard D. Fain acquired 26,800 shares of this cruise line company, paying $36.82 per share for a total amount of $986,776. These shares were purchased indirectly through trusts.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. here.

4. American Capital Agency Corp. (AGNC): $22.59

President and CIO Gary D. Kain acquired 25,000 shares of this mortgage REIT, paying $22.44 per share for a total amount of $561,000. Mr. Kain increased his stake by 3.51% to 737,354 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for American Capital Agency Corp. here.

5. Hatteras Financial Corp (HTS): $19.71

Shares of this residential REIT were acquired by 3 insiders:

• Chief Executive Officer Michael R. Hough acquired 12,500 shares, paying $20.05 per share for a total amount of $250,625. Mr. Hough increased his stake by 5.82% to 227,184 shares with this purchase.
• President and COO Benjamin M. Hough acquired 12,000 shares, paying $20.35 per share for a total amount of $244,200. Mr. Hough increased his stake by 6.22% to 205,000 shares with this purchase.
• Director Ira G. Kawaller acquired 1,200 shares, paying $20.33 per share for a total amount of $24,396. Ms. Kawaller increased her stake by 7.99% to 16,220 shares with this purchase.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN): $304.21

Chairman, CEO and President Jeffrey P. Bezos sold 614,938 shares of Amazon for $302.14, generating $185.79 million from the sale.

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

2. The Blackstone Group L.P. (BX): $23.04

President and COO Hamilton E. James sold 1,500,000 shares of this asset management company for $22.81, generating $34.22 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by a limited liability company beneficially owned by the reporting person.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for The Blackstone Group L.P. here.

3. On Assignment Inc. (ASGN): $30.59

Shares of this professional staffing firm were sold by 4 insiders:

• Director Edwin A. Sheridan sold 300,000 shares for $30.13, generating $9.04 million from the sale.
• CFO of Apex Systems, Inc., Theodore S. Hanson sold 61,926 shares for $30.70, generating $1.9 million from the sale.
• Director Jeremy M. Jones sold 10,000 shares for $31.67, generating $316,674 from the sale.
• Director Marty R. Kittrell sold 3,000 shares for $32.00, generating $95,997 from the sale.

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

4. Facebook, Inc. (FB): $38.05

Shares of Facebook were sold by 4 insiders:

• Chief Technology Officer Todd Michael Schroepfer sold 315,000 shares for $34.34, generating $10.82 million from the sale. 21,315 of these shares were acquired upon conversion of Class B Common Stock to Class A Common Stock in connection with the net settlement of restricted stock units.
• Chief Financial Officer David A. Ebersman sold 223,400 shares for $37.95, generating $8.48 million from the sale.
• Chief Accounting Officer Jas Athwal sold 25,500 shares for $34.97, generating $891,820 from the sale.
• VP, Gen. Counsel & Secretary Colin Stretch sold 18,593 shares for $36.19, generating $672,788 from the sale.

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

5. Masco Corporation (MAS): $21.55

Shares of this building materials company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Richard A. Manoogian sold 500,000 shares for $21.09, generating $10.55 million from the sale.
• VP, General Counsel and Sec. Kenneth G. Cole sold 3,630 shares for $21.38, generating $77,626 from the sale.

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

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