Insider Trading 08 May 2015: Papa John’s, Chipotle, and Discover Selling

by Asif Suria

Insider buying more than doubled last week with insiders buying $74.57 million of stock compared to $32.77 million in the week prior. Selling on the other hand decreased with insiders selling $1.04 billion of stock last week compared to $1.15 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 down to 13.99. In other words, insiders sold almost 14 times as much stock as they purchased.The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 35.02.

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 May 8, 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. Seattle Genetics, Inc. (SGEN): $41.13

Director Felix Baker acquired 1,032,664 shares of this biotech company, paying $35.56 per share for a total amount of $36.72 million. These shares were acquired indirectly through a fund.

We often exclude fund related purchases but decided to highlight this one because these shares were acquired through the highly successful biotech-focused $10 billion Baker Brothers fund. The Baker Brothers along with Randal J. Kirk are worth keeping an eye on if investing in biotech stocks is your cup of tea.

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

2. Sears Holdings Corporation (SHLD): $42.13

10% owner Bruce E. Berkowitz acquired 130,000 shares of this department stores chain, paying $41.28 per share for a total amount of $5.37 million. These shares were acquired by a private fund managed by Mr. Bruce R. Berkowitz.

This is the second week in a row we are highlighting Mr. Berkowitz adding to his position in Sears Holdings.

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

3. Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. (OHI): $36.19

Director Bernard J. Korman acquired 100,000 shares of this healthcare REIT, paying $35.99 per share for a total amount of $3.59 million. Mr. Korman increased his stake by 16.39% to 710,057 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. here.

4. Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APD): $147.97

Chairman, President and CEO Seifi Ghasemi acquired 20,000 shares of this supplier of industrial gases and performance material, paying $145.68 per share for a total amount of $2.91 million. Mr. Ghasemi increased his stake by 11.82% to 189,171 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Air Products & Chemicals Inc. here.

5. Trinity Industries Inc. (TRN): $30.37

Shares of this diversified industrial equipment and services company were acquired by 4 insiders:

• Chairman, CEO & President Timothy R. Wallace acquired 20,000 shares, paying $29.44 per share for a total amount of $588,800. Mr. Wallace increased his stake by 1.79% to 1,136,268 shares with this purchase.
• Director John L. Adams acquired 17,500 shares, paying $29.51 per share for a total amount of $516,425. Mr. Adams increased his stake by 33.79% to 69,284 shares with this purchase.
• Senior Vice President & CFO James E. Perry acquired 10,000 shares, paying $29.50 per share for a total amount of $295,000. Mr. Perry increased his stake by 4.47% to 233,498 shares with this purchase.
• Director Antonio Carrillo acquired 5,000 shares, paying $29.01 per share for a total amount of $145,050.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Discover Financial Services (DFS): $59.01

Shares of this credit card company were sold by 6 insiders:

• EVP Harit Talwar sold 225,849 shares for $59.07, generating $13.34 million from the sale. 50,100 of these shares were sold indirectly through a trust and 15,691 shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Chairman & CEO David W. Nelms sold 30,000 shares for $59.06, generating $1.77 million from the sale.
• President & COO Roger C. Hochschild sold 20,000 shares for $58.87, generating $1.18 million from the sale.
• EVP Diane E. Offereins sold 9,000 shares for $59.06, generating $531,540 from the sale.
• EVP Carlos Minetti sold 8,000 shares for $58.39, generating $467,120 from the sale.
• EVP, GC & Secretary Kathryn McNamara Corley sold 4,000 shares for $58.86, generating $235,440 from the sale.

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

2. Papa John’s International Inc. (PZZA): $65.64

Shares of this pizza delivery restaurant were sold by 2 insiders:

• CEO & President John H. Schnatter sold 242,493 shares for $64.47, generating $15.63 million from the sale.
• Chief Operating Officer Steve M. Ritchie sold 15,864 shares for $64.34, generating $1.02 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Papa John’s International Inc. here.

3. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG): $633.82

Chairman & Co-CEO Steve Ells sold 14,910 shares of this restaurant chain for $699.00, generating $10.42 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. here.

4. Platform Specialty Products Corporation (PAH): $27.38

CEO Daniel H. Leever sold 369,620 shares of this specialty chemicals company for $27.10, generating $10.02 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Platform Specialty Products Corporation here.

5. VASCO Data Security International Inc. (VDSI): $25.06

Shares of this security software & services provider were sold by 2 insiders:

• Executive VP and CFO Clifford K. Bown sold 231,350 shares for $24.25, generating $5.61 million from the sale.
• President and COO Jan E. Valcke sold 120,000 shares for $25.95, generating $3.11 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for VASCO Data Security International Inc. here.

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

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