Insider Trading 24 January 2014: Forest Labs, Wells Fargo Selling

by Asif Suria

Insider buying increased last week with insiders purchasing $78.41 million of their stock compared to $17.78 million in the week prior. Selling decreased with insiders selling $575.8 million of stock last week compared to $831.24 million 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 7.34. In other words, insiders sold more than 7 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 46.76.

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 January 24, 2014

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 includeadditional purchases of Tessera Technologies (TSRA) by the value oriented activist hedge fund Starboard Value and a couple of small purchases by the CFO and a director of the campus apartments REIT American Campus Communities (ACC).

1. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $8.46

CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 80,600 shares of this medical devices and drug development company, paying $8.80 per share for a total amount of $709,322. These shares were purchased indirectly by Frost Gamma Investments Trust.

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

2. S&W Seed Company (SANW): $6.71

Director Grover T. Wickersham acquired 100,000 shares of this farm products company, paying $5.60 per share for a total amount of $560,000. These shares were purchased indirectly by a corporation. The reporting person owns 100% of the shares of this corporation’s general partner.

S&W has benefited greatly in recent years as the United States and then Europe removed restrictions on growing the natural sweetener Stevia. S&W embarked on a program in 2010 to mass produce the stevia leaf to meet the growing demand for this non-caloric and sometimescontroversial sugar substitute.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for S&W Seed Company here.

3. General Electric Company (GE): $24.95

Shares of General Electric were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Director James E. Rohr acquired 10,000 shares, paying $26.18 per share for a total amount of $261,842.
• Director William G. Beattie acquired 4,000 shares, paying $25.85 per share for a total amount of $103,400. 2,000 of these shares were purchased indirectly by Mr. Beattie’s family and 2,000 by a holding company.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for General Electric Company here.

4. Calamos Asset Management Inc. (CLMS): $11.49

Chairman, CEO & Global Co-CIO John P. Calamos acquired 23,258 shares of this asset management company, paying $11.49 per share for a total amount of $267,316. Mr. Calamos increased his stake by 1.26% to 1,871,751 shares with this purchase.

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

5. Fastenal Company (FAST): $45.09

President Leland J. Hein acquired 4,300 shares of this industrial and construction materials retailer, paying $47.38 per share for a total amount of $203,728. Mr. Hein increased his stake by 52.76% to 12,450 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Fastenal Company here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Forest Laboratories Inc. (FRX): $64.95

Shares of this pharmaceutical company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Howard Solomon sold 250,000 shares for $67.13, generating $16.78 million from the sale.
• SVP-Sales Jerome Lynch sold 135,625 shares for $67.28, generating $9.12 million 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 Forest Laboratories Inc. here.

2. Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. (MAA): $62.64

Shares of this apartment REIT were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Thomas H. Lowder sold 113,224 shares for $62.58, generating $7.09 million from the sale.
• Director James K. Lowder sold 63,571 shares for $63.05, generating $4 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by JKL Capital Holdings, LLC.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. here.

3. Wells Fargo & Company (WFC): $45.48

Senior Executive VP & CFO Timothy J. Sloan sold 75,000 shares of this bank for $45.84, generating $3.44 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Wells Fargo & Company here.

4. Enstar Group Limited (ESGR): $130.89

Shares of this insurance company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Executive Vice President Nicholas Andrew Packer sold 12,221 shares for $133.09, generating $1.63 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through Hove Investments Holding Ltd.
• Executive Vice President Paul James O’Shea sold 12,018 shares for $133.00, generating $1.59 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Enstar Group Limited here.

5. Seattle Genetics Inc. (SGEN): $45.45

Shares of this biotech company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Chief Operating Officer Eric Dobmeier sold 56,010 shares for $47.92, generating $2.68 million from the sale.
• CMO & EVP, R & D Jonathan G. Drachman sold 1,201 shares for $45.75, generating $54,946 from the sale.

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

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

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