Insider Trading 14 November 2014: Buying and Selling Declined this Week

by Asif Suria

Insider buying decreased last week with insiders buying $73.83 million of stock compared to $90.85 million in the week prior. Selling also decreased with insiders selling $1.67 billion of stock last week compared to $2.18 billion in the week prior.

While the total amount of insider buying was lower, there were several interesting purchases this week that did not make it into the top 5 purchases. Some of these purchases include a cluster purchase by three insiders of TrueCar (TRUE), …..

a large 25,000 share purchase by the CEO of internet radio service Pandora (P), additional purchases by two directors of Tile Shop Holdings (TTS), a cluster purchase by three insiders of educational toy company LeapFrog (LF) that included purchases by both the CEO and the CFO, a cluster purchase by eight insiders of healthcare technology company Allscripts (MDRX), a cluster purchase by three insiders of regional bank holding company First Niagara (FNFG) and a purchase by two insiders of newspaper company Tribune Publishing (TPUB) that included a purchase by the CFO.

The Pandora purchase triggered a 16.59% rally in the stock on Friday. I have owned LeapFrog since earlier this year and First Niagara for several years.

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 slightly to 22.67. In other words, insiders sold almost 23 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 23.95. 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 November 14, 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. Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK): $23.21

Director Archie W. Dunham acquired 500,000 shares of this oil and natural gas producer, paying $23.32 per share for a total amount of $11.66 million. Mr. Dunham increased his stake by 44.17% to 1,632,107 shares with this purchase.

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

2. New Mountain Finance Corporation (NMFC): $14.94

Shares of this business development company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Director Steven B. Klinsky acquired 134,788 shares, paying $14.82 per share for a total amount of $1.99 million. Mr. Klinsky increased his stake by 5.89% to 2,424,992 shares with this purchase.
• EVP, CAO and Director Adam Weinstein acquired 5,000 shares, paying $14.69 per share for a total amount of $73,447. Mr. Weinstein increased his stake by 16.13% to 35,996 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for New Mountain Finance Corporation here.

3. United States Steel Corp. (X): $36.24

Shares of this steel company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• President & CEO Mario Longhi Filho acquired 28,362 shares, paying $35.24 per share for a total amount of $999,463. Mr. Filho increased his stake by 17.43% to 191,106 shares with this purchase.
• Exec. VP and CFO David B. Burritt acquired 26,489 shares, paying $37.56 per share for a total amount of $994,904. Mr. Burritt increased his stake by 24.34% to 135,323 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for United States Steel Corp. here.

4. Memorial Production Partners LP (MEMP): $16.37

Shares of this oil and natural gas company were acquired by 4 insiders:

• CEO and Chairman John A. Weinzierl acquired 60,000 shares, paying $16.72 per share for a total amount of $1 million. Mr. Weinzierl increased his stake by 12.37% to 545,093 shares with this purchase.
• Director Robert A. Innamorati acquired 9,400 shares, paying $17.26 per share for a total amount of $162,244. Mr. Innamorati increased his stake by 16.37% to 66,811 shares with this purchase.
• SVP, General Counsel & Corp. Secretary Kyle N. Roane acquired 3,100 shares, paying $15.78 per share for a total amount of $48,918. Mr. Roane increased his stake by 3.70% to 86,918 shares with this purchase.
• President William J. Scarff acquired 3,000 shares, paying $16.34 per share for a total amount of $49,020. Mr. Scarff increased his stake by 3.19% to 96,943 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Memorial Production Partners LP here.

5. Prospect Capital Corporation (PSEC): $9.69

Shares of this business development company were acquired by 3 insiders:

• Chief Executive Officer John F. Barry acquired 110,000 shares, paying $9.57 per share for a total amount of $1.05 million. Mr. Barry increased his stake by 2.49% to 4,535,544 shares with this purchase.
• Chief Operating Officer M. Grier Eliasek acquired 5,000 shares, paying $9.56 per share for a total amount of $47,788. Mr. Eliasek increased his stake by 2.60% to 197,196 shares with this purchase.
• Director Eugene S. Stark acquired 1,512 shares, paying $9.40 per share for a total amount of $14,213. Mr. Stark increased his stake by 7.76% to 21,000 shares with this purchase.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Receptos, Inc. (RCPT): $106.55

Shares of this biotech company were sold by 2 insiders:

• President & CEO Faheem Hasnain sold 200,000 shares for $109.47, generating $21.89 million from the sale.
• Chief Technology Officer Marcus F. Boehm sold 40,454 shares for $109.91, generating $4.45 million from the sale.

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

2. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGN): $395.2

Shares of this biotech company were sold by 2 insiders:

• President & CEO Leonard S. Schleifer sold 45,817 shares for $400.30, generating $18.34 million from the sale.
• SVP & General Mgr Industrial Daniel P. Van Plew sold 8,575 shares for $399.34, generating $3.42 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 Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. here.

3. The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW): $28.87

Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 500,000 shares of this investment brokerage for $28.90, generating $14.45 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by a Limited Partnership.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for The Charles Schwab Corporation here.

4. ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW): $67.51

Shares of this software-as-a-service provider were sold by 3 insiders:

• Chief Product Officer Frederic B. Luddy sold 151,400 shares for $67.77, generating $10.26 million from the sale. 50,000 of these shares were sold indirectly by Frederic B. Luddy CRT, LLC and 1,400 shares were sold indirectly by Mr. Luddy’s spouse.
• Chief Revenue Officer David Schneider sold 31,000 shares for $68.37, generating $2.12 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Director Ronald E. Codd sold 15,000 shares for $68.07, generating $1.02 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 ServiceNow, Inc. here.

5. Hasbro Inc. (HAS): $54.02

Director Alan G. Hassenfeld sold 222,347 shares of this toy company for $58.05, generating $12.91 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

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

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

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