Insider Trading 03 April 2015: Aetna , Twitter, Costco Selling

by Asif Suria

Insider buying increased last week with insiders buying $38.72 million of stock compared to $27.48 million in the week prior. Selling decreased with insiders selling $1.09 billion of stock last week compared to $1.37 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 28.15. In other words, insiders sold more than 28 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 49.92.

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 April 3, 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. Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK): $14.59

Director Archie W. Dunham acquired 1 million shares of this oil and natural gas producer, paying $13.98 per share for a total amount of $13.98 million. Mr. Dunham increased his stake by 61.15% to 2,635,270 shares with this purchase.

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

2. AGCO Corporation (AGCO): $47.6

Director Mallika Srinivasan acquired 62,104 shares of this farm & construction machinery company, paying $47.57 per share for a total amount of $2.95 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Chennai, India based TAFE Motors and Tractors Limited.

We have reported on these purchases by TAFE for several months. AGCO was also the top weekly idea at SumZero in late February.

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

3. PHI Inc. (PHII): $29.96

Chief Executive Officer Alton Anthony Gonsoulin Jr. acquired 29,216 shares of this helicopter transportation services provider, paying $31.33 per share for a total amount of $915,365. Mr. Gonsoulin increased his stake by 1.46% to 2,029,350 shares with this purchase.

This is the second week in a row we are reporting insider purchases by the CEO of PHI.

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

4. Biglari Holdings Inc. (BH): $423.37

Chairman and CEO Sardar Biglari, acquired 2,069 shares of this restaurant holding company, paying $414.56 per share for a total amount of $857,726. These shares were purchased indirectly by The Lion Fund.

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

5. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $14.33

CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 32,400 shares of this medical devices and drug development company, paying $14.25 per share for a total amount of $461,602. These shares were acquired indirectly by Frost Gamma Investments Trust.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Aetna Inc. (AET): $107.15

Shares of this health care benefits company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Senior EVP, Healthagen Joseph M. Zubretsky sold 286,958 shares for $107.74, generating $30,92 million from the sale. 138,068 of these shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• EVP, Operations & Technology Margaret M. McCarthy sold 27,670 shares for $106.04, generating $2.93 million from the sale.

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

2. Twitter, Inc. (TWTR): $50.42

Shares of Twitter were sold by 5 insiders:

• Director Evan Clark Williams sold 468,000 shares for $50.51, generating $23.64 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through various trusts.
• President of Revenue Adam Bain sold 29,646 shares for $50.92, generating $1.51 million from the sale.
• Vice President of Product Kevin Weil sold 27,035 shares for $50.90, generating $1.38 million from the sale.
• VP, Engineering Alexander Roetter sold 19,148 shares for $50.92, generating $974,951 from the sale.
• Chief Executive Officer Richard Costolo sold 18,845 shares for $50.92, generating $959,499 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.

3. G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (GIII): $114.01

Shares of this apparel chain were sold by 3 insiders:

• CEO and President Morris Goldfarb sold 120,000 shares for $112.76, generating $13.53 million from the sale. 10,000 of these shares were sold indirectly by The Morris and Arlene Goldfarb Family Foundation.
• Vice Chairman Sammy Aaron sold 25,000 shares for $109.51, generating $2.74 million from the sale.
• Director Cheryl L. Vitali sold 610 shares for $110.77, generating $67,569 from the sale.

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

4. NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. (NRF): $18.22

Shares of this retail REIT were sold by 2 insiders:

• Chief Inv. and Operating Officer Daniel R. Gilbert sold 450,000 shares for $18.22, generating $8.19 million from the sale.
• Chairman and CEO David T. Hamamoto sold 400,000 shares for $18.22, generating $7.29 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. here.

5. Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST): $151.63

Chairman of the Board Jeffrey H. Brotman sold 93,564 shares of this discount store chain for $150.12, generating $14.05 million from the sale. 65,272 of these shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

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

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

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