Insider Trading 19 September 2014: Cisco Systems, Palo Alto Networks Selling

by Asif Suria

Insider buying increased last week with insiders buying $49.49 million of stock compared to $35.47 million in the week prior. Selling decreased significantly with insiders selling $469.15 million of stock last week compared to $3.37 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 to 9.48. In other words, insiders sold more than 9 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 95.05.

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 September 19, 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. Miller Energy Resources, Inc. (MILL): $4.86

Shares of this oil & gas exploration and production company were acquired by 3 insiders:

• Executive Chairman Scott M. Boruff acquired 100,000 shares, paying $5.03 per share for a total amount of $503,000. Mr. Boruff increased his stake by 2.30% to 4,440,728 shares with this purchase.
• Chief Executive Officer Carl Fredrick Giesler acquired 40,000 shares, paying $4.99 per share for a total amount of $199,732. Mr. Giesler increased his stake by 6.67% to 640,000 shares with this purchase.
• Director Haag A. Sherman acquired 35,000 shares, paying $4.97 per share for a total amount of $173,875. Mr. Sherman increased his stake by -636.36% to 29,500 shares with this purchase. 5,500 of these shares were purchased indirectly by IRA.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Miller Energy Resources, Inc. here.

2. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $8.42

CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 100,000 shares of this medical devices and drug development company, paying $8.51 per share for a total amount of $850,541. 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. Tallgrass Energy Partners, LP (TEP): $45.49

Shares of this natural gas company were acquired by 3 insiders:

• President and CEO David G. Dehaemers Jr. acquired 7,700 shares, paying $43.16 per share for a total amount of $332,332. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.
• Director Roy Nolan Cook acquired 5,000 shares, paying $44.50 per share for a total amount of $222,500. Mr. Cook increased his stake by 17.86% to 33,000 shares with this purchase.
• CFO of the General Partner Gary J. Brauchle acquired 570 shares, paying $44.60 per share for a total amount of $25,422. Mr. Brauchle increased his stake by 0.99% to 58,388 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Tallgrass Energy Partners, LP here.

4. Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS): $35.83

CEO Roger A. Krone acquired 15,000 shares of this science and technology solutions provider, paying $35.23 per share for a total amount of $528,450. Mr. Krone increased his stake by 23.83% to 77,942 shares with this purchase.

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

5. Synergy Resources Corporation (SYRG): $12.53

Director George L. Seward acquired 41,189 shares of this oil and natural gas exploration company, paying $12.60 per share for a total amount of $518,981. Mr. Seward increased his stake by 1.98% to 2,116,614 shares with this purchase.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO): $25.2

Shares of Cisco were sold by 7 insiders:

• President, Dev. & Sales Robert Wayne Lloyd sold 179,227 shares for $25.23, generating $4.52 million from the sale.
• President & COO Gary B. Moore sold 148,651 shares for $25.10, generating $3.73 million from the sale.
• EVP and CFO Frank Calderoni sold 120,000 shares for $25.25, generating $3.03 million from the sale.
• SVP,Worldwide Field Operations Charles Robbins sold 92,003 shares for $25.09, generating $2.31 million from the sale.
• SVP, Chief Marketing Officer Katherine Blair Christie sold 23,908 shares for $25.00, generating $597,702 from the sale.
• SVP, Corp Controller & CAO Prat Bhatt sold 14,225 shares for $24.88, generating $353,961 from the sale.
• EVP, Chief Globalisation Officer Wim Elfrink sold 10,000 shares for $25.23, generating $252,340 from the sale.

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

2. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW): $99.28

Chief Marketing Officer Rene Bonvanie sold 112,500 shares of this network security company for $99.59, generating $11.2 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Palo Alto Networks, Inc. here.

3. Verint Systems Inc. (VRNT): $55.09

Shares of this business intelligence & services provider were sold by 3 insiders:

• President & CEO Dan Bodner sold 149,766 shares for $53.61, generating $8.03 million from the sale. 80,000 of these shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Chief Strategy Officer Meir Sperling sold 31,659 shares for $53.64, generating $1.69 million from the sale. 9,369 of these shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• President, EIS & VIS Elan Moriah sold 12,058 shares for $53.62, generating $646,550 from the sale.

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

4. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH): $87.8

Shares of this healthcare services provider were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Richard T. Burke sold 100,000 shares for $87.03, generating $8.7 million from the sale.
• Director Douglas W. Leatherdale sold 15,800 shares for $87.21, generating $1.38 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated here.

5. Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. (OZRK): $33.86

Director Ross M. Whipple sold 285,000 shares of this regional bank for $32.61, generating $9.29 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through an LLLP.

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

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

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