Insider Trading 06 March 2015: Twitter, Blackstone Selling

by Asif Suria

Insider buying declined sharply last week with insiders buying $70.86 million of stock compared to $168.17 million in the week prior. Selling on the other hand increased with insiders selling $1.77 billion of stock last week compared to $1.53 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 went up to 24.99. In other words, insiders sold almost 25 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 9.12.

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 March 6, 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. Medivation, Inc. (MDVN): $126.55

Director Kathryn E. Falberg acquired 25,000 shares of this biotech company, paying $117.67 per share for a total amount of $2.94 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

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

2. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $14.11

CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 79,200 shares of this medical devices and drug development company, paying $14.09 per share for a total amount of $1.12 million. 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. Sequential Brands Group, Inc. (SQBG): $10.04

Shares of this consumer brand focused company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Director Al Gossett acquired 78,000 shares, paying $9.16 per share for a total amount of $714,360. Mr. Gossett increased his stake by 63.61% to 200,623 shares with this purchase.
• Director Leonard Stewart Jr. acquired 10,000 shares, paying $10.16 per share for a total amount of $101,600. Mr. Stewart increased his stake by 42.39% to 33,593 shares with this purchase.

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

4. CARBO Ceramics Inc. (CRR): $35.8

Director William C. Morris acquired 20,000 shares of this oilfield services technology company, paying $36.36 per share for a total amount of $727,277. These shares were purchased indirectly by Mr. Morris’ wife.

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

5. Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF): $6.27

Shares of this coal and iron ore mining company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Chairman, President & CEO Lourenco Goncalves acquired 100,000 shares, paying $6.50 per share for a total amount of $649,530. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.
• Director Michael D. Siegal acquired 7,200 shares, paying $6.81 per share for a total amount of $49,012. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. The Blackstone Group L.P. (BX): $38.75

President and COO Hamilton E. James sold 2,000,000 shares of this asset management company for $38.12, generating $76.25 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for The Blackstone Group L.P. here.

2. Graham Holdings (GHC): $1047.24

Shares of this education and media company were sold by 2 insiders:

• COB and CEO Donald Graham sold 28,500 shares for $991.52, generating $28.26 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• Senior Vice President Ann McDaniel sold 600 shares for $1005.39, generating $603,233 from the sale.

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

3. Twitter, Inc. (TWTR): $46.75

Shares of Twitter were sold by 5 insiders:

• Director Evan Clark Williams sold 468,000 shares for $47.31, generating $22.14 million from the sale. 439,920 of these shares were sold indirectly through various entities.
• General Counsel Vijaya Gadde sold 16,018 shares for $48.12, generating $770,725 from the sale.
• VP, Engineering Alexander Roetter sold 12,252 shares for $48.11, generating $589,500 from the sale.
• Vice President of Product Kevin Weil sold 7,566 shares for $47.76, generating $361,349 from the sale.
• Chief Accounting Officer Gordon S. Lee sold 1,372 shares for $47.94, generating $65,769 from the sale.

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

Voluntary Disclosure: I hold a long position in Twitter.

4. Lincoln National Corporation (LNC): $58.92

Shares of this life insurance company were sold by 2 insiders:

• President – Insurance Solutions Mark E. Konen sold 24,531 shares for $884.41, generating $21.69 million from the sale.
• Director Patrick S. Pittard sold 1,945 shares for $58.28, generating $113,357 from the sale.

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

5. WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (WETF): $20.55

Shares of this asset management company were sold by 3 insiders:

• Director Michael H. Steinhardt sold 563,630 shares for $19.24, generating $10.85 million from the sale. 183,900 of these shares were sold indirectly by The Judy and Michael Steinhardt Foundation.
• Chief Investment Strategist Luciano Siracusano III sold 60,000 shares for $20.29, generating $1.22 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Chief Legal Officer Peter M. Ziemba sold 50,000 shares for $19.20, generating $960,105 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 WisdomTree Investments, Inc. here.

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

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