Insider Trading 10 October 2014: Insiders Selling $495.08 Million of Stock

by Asif Suria

Insider buying decreased last week with insiders buying $51.96 million of stock compared to $72.32 million in the week prior. Selling increased with insiders selling $495.08 million of stock last week compared to $432.89 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 9.53.In other words, insiders sold almost 10 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 5.99.

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 October 10, 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:

In addition to the top 5 insider purchases listed below, other purchases that caught our eye this week include a small purchase of Sears Holdings (SHLD) by Bruce Berkowitz of Fairholme Capital Management fame, a purchase by the CFO of EP Energy Corporation (EPE) and a purchase by the CTO of online auto auctions company Copart (CPRT).

1. AGCO Corporation (AGCO): $42.08

Director Mallika Srinivasan acquired 488,514 shares of this farm & construction machinery company, paying $43.85 per share for a total amount of $21.42 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Chennai, India based TAFE Motors and Tractors Limited.

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

2. SFX Entertainment Inc. (SFXE): $4.35

CEO and Chairman of the Board Robert F. Sillerman acquired 575,000 shares of this live events and digital entertainment producer, paying $4.91 per share for a total amount of $2.82 million. These shares were acquired indirectly by Sillerman Investment Company III LLC

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for SFX Entertainment Inc. here.

3. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $8.16

CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 110,000 shares of this medical devices and drug development company, paying $8.34 per share for a total amount of $917,753. These shares were purchased indirectly by Frost Gamma Investments Trust.

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

4. Intevac Inc. (IVAC): $6.84

Director Matthew A. Drapkin acquired 100,139 shares of this thin film and photonics equipment manufacturer, paying $6.85 per share for a total amount of $685,652. These shares were purchased indirectly by Becker Drapkin Partners, L.P.

We highlighted Becker Drapkin’s purchases of Intevac twice in August.

Becker Drapkin Partners is an activist fund that tends to focus on small cap companies. Some of their other purchases we have covered in the past include Hot Topic (HOTT) and Glu Mobile (GLUU).

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

5. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (LGND): $44.44

Director Jason Aryeh acquired 11,000 shares of this biotech company, paying $42.99 per share for a total amount of $472,890. These shares were acquired indirectly by certain funds managed by JALAA Equities, LP.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (GIII): $82.2

Shares of this apparel chain were sold by 6 insiders:

• Vice Chairman Sammy Aaron sold 43,112 shares for $82.20, generating $3.54 million from the sale.
• Chief Executive Officer Morris Goldfarb sold 25,000 shares for $81.75, generating $2.04 million from the sale.
• Chief Operating Officer Wayne S. Miller sold 6,565 shares for $81.75, generating $536,693 from the sale.
• Chief Financial Officer/Treas Neal Nackman sold 4,743 shares for $81.48, generating $386,447 from the sale.
• Director Jeffrey David Goldfarb sold 3,742 shares for $81.75, generating $305,911 from the sale.
• Director Katz Jeanette Nostra sold 460 shares for $81.75, generating $37,605 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. here.

2. SunPower Corporation (SPWR): $28.49

Chief Operating Officer Marty T. Neese sold 223,663 shares of this solar systems manufacturer for $29.07, generating $6.5 million from the sale.

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

3. Salesforce.com, Inc (CRM): $54.77

Shares of this Software as a Service (SaaS) provider were sold by 2 insiders:

• Chairman of the Board & CEO Marc Benioff sold 100,000 shares for $57.35, generating $5.73 million from the sale.
• Chief Operating Officer George Hu sold 10,500 shares for $57.58, generating $604,571 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 Salesforce.com, Inc here.

4. SolarCity Corporation (SCTY): $53.55

Chief Executive Officer Lyndon R. Rive sold 100,000 shares of this solar systems installer for $57.92, generating $5.79 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust and 30,000 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 SolarCity Corporation here.

5. Facebook, Inc. (FB): $72.91

Shares of Facebook were sold by 2 insiders:

• VP Marketing & Business Partnerships David B. Fischer sold 36,000 shares for $76.57, generating $2.76 million from the sale.
• Chief Technology Officer Michael Todd Schroepfer sold 35,000 shares for $77.07, generating $2.69 million from the sale.

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

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

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