Insider Trading 22 May 2015: Bill Gates Selling Microsoft Again

by Asif Suria

Insider buying decreased last week with insiders buying $86.26 million of stock compared to $143.37 million in the week prior. Selling increased with insiders selling $3.19 billion of stock last week compared to $1.83 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 36.93. In other words, insiders sold almost 37 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 12.77.

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 22, 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. MaxPoint Interactive, Inc. (MXPT): $8.76

Shares of this digital advertising services provider were acquired by 5 insiders:

• Director Len Jordan acquired 396,174 shares, paying $8.89 per share for a total amount of $3.52 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through Madrona Venture Fund IV, L.P.
• President, CEO, Chairman Joseph Epperson acquired 6,000 shares, paying $8.28 per share for a total amount of $49,666. Mr. Epperson increased his stake by 0.29% to 2.09 million shares with this purchase.
• Chief Operating Officer Gretchen Joyce acquired 3,000 shares, paying $8.40 per share for a total amount of $25,200. Ms. Joyce increased her stake by 0.62% to 487,364 shares with this purchase.
• Chief Technology Officer Kurt Carlson acquired 2,895 shares, paying $8.29 per share for a total amount of $24,005. Mr. Carlson increased his stake by 0.64% to 452,895 shares with this purchase.
• Director Lynnette Frank acquired 2,700 shares, paying $9.43 per share for a total amount of $25,465.

This was an interesting group of cluster purchases as it comes less than 2 months after MaxPoint priced its IPO at $11.50 a share on March 6, 2015. While revenue is growing at a high double digit clip (up 87% in Q1), losses have also kept pace, with the company posting a net loss of $8.1 million in Q1 2015 compared to a loss of $4.2 million in Q1 2014.

While investors have been forgiving of some high growth companies that post losses year after year, they have not been as enthusiastic about MaxPoint. They are either concerned about growing losses or are reminded of AOL’s disastrous foray into local advertising or both.

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

2. Virgin America Inc. (VA): $28.49

Director Robert A. Nickell acquired 70,500 shares of this airline, paying $28.35 per share for a total amount of $1.99 million. Mr. Nickell increased his stake by 47.32% to 219,485 shares with this purchase. 10,500 of these shares were acquired indirectly through trusts.

While operating margins for VA are lower than most local US airlines, the stock is significantly cheaper in comparison and the company is known for its exceptional customer experience.

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

3. Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. (GMCR): $90.76

Shares of this specialty coffee company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Director Jose Octavio Reyes acquired 15,000 shares, paying $89.82 per share for a total amount of $1.35 million. Mr. Reyes increased his stake by 1,039.50% to 16,443 shares with this purchase.
• Director Robert Allan Steele acquired 2,500 shares, paying $88.76 per share for a total amount of $221,900. Mr. Steele increased his stake by 55.62% to 6,995 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. here.

4. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NOG): $7.08

CEO Michael Lewis Reger acquired 175,000 shares of this independent energy company, paying $6.93 per share for a total amount of $1.21 million. Mr. Reger increased his stake by 6.36% to 2,925,458 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. here.

5. American Express Company (AXP): $81.25

Director Ronald A. Williams acquired 13,585 shares of this credit card company, paying $80.98 per share for a total amount of $1.1 million. Mr. Williams increased his stake by 49.40% to 41,085 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for American Express Company here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): $46.9

Shares of Microsoft were sold by 2 insiders:

• Founder Bill Gates sold 8,000,000 shares for $48.08, generating $384.62 million from the sale.
• Director Maria Klawe sold 1,000 shares for $48.25, generating $48,254 from the sale.

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

2. Public Storage (PSA): $195.09

Director B. Wayne Hughes Jr. sold 400,000 shares of this equity real estate investment trust for $197.33, generating $78.93 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Public Storage here.

3. The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW): $31.41

Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 1,000,000 shares of this investment brokerage for $31.58, generating $31,576,250 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.

4. FireEye, Inc. (FEYE): $45.07

Shares of this security software company were sold by 4 insiders:

• President Kevin R. Mandia sold 431,918 shares for $41.25, generating $17.82 million from the sale. 55,251 of these shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• Chief Strategy Officer Ashar Aziz sold 188,434 shares for $44.18, generating $8.33 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• SVP and General Counsel Alexa King sold 12,000 shares for $45.38, generating $544,500 from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• Director Ronald E. Codd sold 5,000 shares for $45.00, generating $225,000 from the sale.

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

5. Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO): $27.26

Shares of this video software company were sold by 3 insiders:

• Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick sold 304,772 shares for $27.68, generating $8.44 milion from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by Zelnick Media Corporation.
• President Karl Slatoff sold 39,896 shares for $27.58, generating $1.1 million from the sale.
• Chief Financial Officer Lainie Goldstein sold 18,705 shares for $28.00, generating $523,740 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. here.

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

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