Insider Trading 21 March 2014: Facebook Continues to Sell

by Asif Suria

Insider buying increased last week with insiders purchasing $54.45 million of their stock compared to $37.85 million in the week prior. Selling decreased with insiders selling $1.49 billion of stock last week compared to $2.62 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 dropped down to 27.42. In other words, insiders sold more than 27 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 69.3.

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 March 21, 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:

1. AGCO Corporation (AGCO): $52.26

Director Mallika Srinivasan acquired 423,719 shares of this farm & construction machinery company, paying $51.93 per share for a total amount of $22 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by TAFE Motors and Tractors Limited.

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

2. Ameresco, Inc. (AMRC): $7.94

President and CEO George P. Sakellaris acquired 231,600 shares of this energy efficiency solutions provider, paying $7.68 per share for a total amount of $1.78 million. Mr. Sakellaris increased his stake by 10.05% to 2,535,626 shares with this purchase.

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

3. Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK): $24.67

Director Archie W. Dunham acquired 54,250 shares of this oil and natural gas producer, paying $24.97 per share for a total amount of $1.35 million. Mr. Dunham increased his stake by 5.13% to 1,111,499 shares with this purchase.

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

4. Prospect Capital Corporation (PSEC): $10.92

Chief Executive Officer John F. Barry acquired 100,000 shares of this business development company, paying $10.86 per share for a total amount of $1.09 million. Mr. Barry increased his stake by 2.71% to 3,793,385 shares with this purchase.

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

5. S&W Seed Company (SANW): $7.26

Director Grover T. Wickersham acquired 150,000 shares of this seed company, paying $6.87 per share for a total amount of $1.03 million. These shares were acquired indirectly through a limited partnership.

We wrote the following after Mr. Wickersham’s January 100,000 purchase of S&W Seed for $5.60,

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 sometimes controversial sugar substitute.

It is noteworthy that despite a 23% jump in the price of the stock since his last purchase, he bought 50% more shares than he did last time.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Facebook, Inc. (FB): $67.24

Shares of Facebook were sold by 3 insiders:

• Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg sold 283,334 shares for $67.45, generating $19.11 million from the sale.
• Chief Financial Officer David A. Ebersman sold 82,114 shares for $68.36, generating $5.6 million from the sale.
• Chief Technology Officer Michael Todd Schroepfer sold 9,787 shares for $68.14, generating $666,849 from the sale.

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

2. Novavax, Inc. (NVAX): $4.68

Shares of this biotech company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Rajiv I. Modi sold 3,000,000 shares for $4.95, generating $14.85 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by Satellite Overseas (Holdings) Limited.
• SVP, Research and Development Gregory M. Glenn sold 29,000 shares for $5.48, generating $158,778 from the sale.

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

3. Workday, Inc. (WDAY): $97.1

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

• Co-CEO and Chairman Aneel Bhusri sold 62,500 shares for $102.39, generating $6.39 million from the sale.
• Chief Financial Officer Mark S. Peek sold 40,000 shares for $103.60, generating $4.14 million from the sale.
• President and COO Michael A. Stankey sold 13,344 shares for $101.90, generating $1.36 million from the sale. 8,922 of 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 Workday, Inc. here.

4. priceline.com Incorporated (PCLN): $1268.83

Shares of this online travel company were sold by 3 insiders:

• Chief Financial Officer Daniel J. Finnegan sold 3,181 shares for $1289.99, generating $4.1 million
• Executive VP, General Counsel Peter J. Millones sold 3,181 shares for $1289.94, generating $4.1 million from the sale.
• Director Jeffrey E. Epstein sold 2,000 shares for $1292.28, generating $2.58 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 priceline.com Incorporated here.

5. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG): $611.12

Chairman & CEO Steve Ells sold 17,672 shares of this restaurant chain for $600.00, generating $10.6 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. here.

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

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