Insider Trading 20 June 2014: Sanchez Energy, Gap, General Dynamics Selling

by Asif Suria

Insider buying increased last week with insiders buying $59.95 million of stock compared to $42.41 million in the week prior. Selling also increased with insiders selling $1.37 billion of stock last week compared to $910.43 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 went up to 22.74.In other words, insiders sold almost 23 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 21.47.

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 June 20, 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. Prospect Capital Corporation (PSEC): $10.33

Shares of this business development company were acquired by 4 insiders:

• Chief Executive Officer John F. Barry acquired 100,000 shares, paying $10.33 per share for a total amount of $1.03 million. Mr. Barry increased his stake by 2.56% to 4,010,959 shares with this purchase.
• CFO, CCO, Treasurer and Secretary Brian H. Oswald acquired 30,000 shares, paying $10.25 per share for a total amount of $307,500. Mr. Oswald increased his stake by 32.72% to 121,700 shares with this purchase.
• Chief Operating Officer Grier M. Eliasek acquired 24,000 shares, paying $10.28 per share for a total amount of $246,720. Mr. Eliasek increased his stake by 16.76% to 167,196 shares with this purchase.
• Director Eugene S. Stark acquired 1,000 shares, paying $10.27 per share for a total amount of $10,270. Mr. Stark increased his stake by 6.90% to 15,488 shares with this purchase.

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

2. NASB Financial, Inc. (NASB): $24.6

Director Linda S. Hancock acquired 65,000 shares of this regional bank, paying $23.10 per share for a total amount of $1.5 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

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

3. INSYS Therapeutics, Inc. (INSY): $29.16

Director John N. Kapoor acquired 30,000 shares of this specialty pharmaceutical company, paying $25.15 per share for a total amount of $754,593. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

Dr. Kapoor is Executive Chairman of INSYS and has served on its board of directors since its formation in 1990.

The company has seen revenue and its stock price soar from a low of below $8 last June to $55.58 on March 4, before giving up more than half of those gains in the subsequent months. Extensive off-label use of its powerful narcotic drug that is currently only approved for use by cancer patients resulted in a subpoena from the federal health department’s Office of the Inspector General for documents related to its sales and marketing practices as detailed in this NY Times article.

While the company trades for 18 times EBITDA, operating margins (34.2%) and revenue growth numbers (276.5%) are off the charts.

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

4. Bristow Group, Inc. (BRS): $79.33

SVP & Chief Financial Officer John H. Briscoe acquired 7,000 shares of this helicopter services provider to the offshore drilling industry, paying $76.98 per share for a total amount of $538,830. Mr. Briscoe increased his stake by 100% to 14,000 shares with this purchase.

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

5. Rally Software Development Corp. (RALY): $10.46

Shares of this application software company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Director Thomas F. Bogan acquired 50,000 shares, paying $9.18 per share for a total amount of $459,200. Mr. Bogan increased his stake by 72.40% to 119,060 shares with this purchase.
• Director Timothy V. Wolf acquired 5,000 shares, paying $9.15 per share for a total amount of $45,745. Mr. Wolf increased his stake by 16.38% to 35,527 shares with this purchase.

Trading close to its 52 week low, the stock rallied 13% following these transactions and has managed to hold on to most of those gains in the ensuing days.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Rally Software Development Corp. here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Sanchez Energy Corporation (SN): $38

Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors Antonio R. Sanchez Jr. sold 700,000 shares of this independent oil & gas company for $35.25, generating $24.68 million from the sale. 375,000 of these shares were sold indirectly by Sanchez Oil & Gas Corporation.

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

2. The Gap, Inc. (GPS): $41.68

Director Robert J. Fisher sold 297,336 shares of this apparel chain for $41.21, generating $12.25 million from the sale.

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

3. General Dynamics Corp. (GD): $119.55

Director Nicholas D. Chabraja sold 50,000 shares of this aerospace and defense company for $120.01, generating $6million from the sale.

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

4. The Priceline Group Inc. (PCLN): $1203.17

Shares of this online travel company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Jeffery H. Boyd sold 3,000 shares for $1,197.37, generating $3.59 million from the sale.
• Director Jeffrey E. Epstein sold 2,000 shares for $1,196.97, generating $2.39 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 The Priceline Group Inc. here.

5. Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Inc. (BFAM): $42.7

Shares of this child care and early education services provider were sold by 5 insiders:

• President and COO Mary Ann Tocio sold 42,600 shares for $42.59, generating $1.81 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Chief Executive Officer David H. Lissy sold 25,000 shares for $42.00, generating $1.05 million from the sale.
• Director Roger H. Brown sold 20,000 shares for $42.00, generating $840,000 from the sale.
• Director Linda A. Mason sold 20,000 shares for $42.00, generating $840,000 from the sale.
• Chief Administrative Officer Stephen I. Dreier sold 5,000 shares for $42.75, generating $213,750 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 Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Inc. here.

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

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