Insider Trading 13 February 2015: Bill Gates and Charles Schwab Continue Selling

by Asif Suria

Insider buying increased last week with insiders buying $101.2 million of stock compared to $97.23 million in the week prior. Selling edged down with insiders selling $1.38 billion of stock last week compared to $1.41 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 13.67. In other words, insiders sold more than 13 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 14.51.

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 February 13, 2015

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. Colfax Corporation (CFX): $52.02

Director Mitchell P. Rales acquired 500,000 shares of this industrial manufacturing and engineering company, paying $46.25 per share for a total amount of $23.13 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Colfax Capital Corporation.

Mr. Rales is the co-founder of both Danaher (DHR) and Colfax along with his brother Steven Rales and built both companies from the ground up. He also serves as the Chairman of the Board at Colfax. With an estimated net worth of $4 billion, this purchase may not be very large but it is his biggest purchase since he acquired $50 million worth of Colfax stock in January 2012 at a price of $23.04.

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

2. ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. (ZIOP): $9.64

Director Randal J. Kirk acquired 1,440,000 shares of this biotech company, paying $8.75 per share for a total amount of $12.6 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Intrexon Corporation.

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

3. Fifth Street Finance Corp. (FSC): $7.23

Shares of this investment company were acquired by 3 insiders:

• Director Leonard M. Tannenbaum acquired 1,121,851 shares, paying $6.94 per share for a total amount of $7.79 million. Mr. Tannenbaum increased his stake by 55.38% to 3,147,685 shares with this purchase.
• Chief Executive Officer Todd Owens acquired 10,000 shares, paying $7.05 per share for a total amount of $70,482.
• Director Bernard D. Berman acquired 2,000 shares, paying $6.99 per share for a total amount of $13,980. Mr. Berman increased his stake by 8.34% to 25,968 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Fifth Street Finance Corp. here.

4. Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (KFS): $5.88

Director Joseph Stilwell acquired 250,000 shares of this insurance company, paying $5.63 per share for a total amount of $1.41 million. Mr. Stilwell increased his stake by 7.10% to 3,772,218 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Kingsway Financial Services Inc. here.

5. Biglari Holdings Inc. (BH): $416.41

Chairman and CEO Sardar Biglari, acquired 2,506 shares of this restaurant holding company, paying $415.00 per share for a total amount of $1,039,990. These shares were purchased indirectly by The Lion Fund.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): $43.87

Founder Bill Gates sold 2,000,000 shares of Microsoft for $42.42, generating $84.83 million from the sale.

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

2. ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW): $77.55

Shares of this software-as-a-service provider were sold by 5 insiders:

• Chief Product Officer Frederic B. Luddy sold 203,600 shares for $73.35, generating $14.93 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• President & CEO Frank Slootman sold 40,071 shares for $73.25, generating $2.94 million from the sale.
• Chief Financial Officer Michael Scarpelli sold 20,035 shares for $73.25, generating $1.47 million from the sale.
• Chief Revenue Officer David Schneider sold 20,035 shares for $73.25, generating $1.47 million from the sale.
• Director William L. Strauss sold 8,300 shares for $75.02, generating $622,635 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.

3. Robert Half International Inc. (RHI): $61.42

Vice Chairman, President & CFO M. Keith Waddell sold 300,000 shares of this staffing and risk consulting services provider for $60.60, generating $18.18 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Robert Half International Inc. here.

4. The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW): $29.13

Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 400,000 shares of this investment brokerage for $28.72, generating $11.49 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

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

5. Qualys, Inc. (QLYS): $47.95

Chairman, President & CEO Philippe F. Courtot sold 250,000 shares of this security and compliance services company for $45.57, generating $11.39 million from the sale.

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

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

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