Advanced Auto Parts, AAP had a dismal week dropping from an already depressed price of $150 to $133.63 as of Wednesday close. That did not dissuade CEO Thomas Greco from spending $2.2 million to purchase 16,000 more shares. Greco has been a steady buyer over the last year purchasing over $ 5 million worth of stock, to date losing money on every purchase. Hedge fund titan Starboard Value Opportunity fund picked up $47 million as well. Ok, do they not understand that Amazon is targeting the auto parts business? Maybe Amazon will just fly out buy them? The latest earnings unimpressed and the stock cratered 10% on the news. We are nibbling at it as catching falling knives is not an act we like much.
Coty Inc, COTY Well another insider, Group President Huber buying $1.5 million worth of cosmetics and beauty giant Coty should not come as much of a surprise as insiders have been buying stock for some time.Officer McMullen added $484k to his stake. I am still trying to figure out why they are buying, but that is often the case at 52 week lows.
Juno Therapeutics Inc, JUNO After the announcement of Jay Flatley would join its board of directors on May 23 he bought 20,000 shares at $24.76. Mr. Flatley, the former executive chairman of Illuminata, Co. of 17 years where he brought company revenues from merely $1 Million up to $2 Billion. His expertise in the pharmaceutical field could be significant in helping the biotech company grow in the long run. The stock has seen high volatility after a 7% increase on Friday and took a plunge of 11% on Monday. Perhaps the announcement of the death of an 82-year-old JUNO patient overshadowed the positive medical trial results the company released Monday from the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology conference.
LCI Industries, Patrick Industries Inc, and Winnebago Industries Inc, LCII, PATK, and WGO All of these companies witnessed insider buying during the month of May. Each of these companies saw substantial growth through the first week of June. Considering gas prices at a low high employment it looks like RV spots will be in high demand this summer. We’ll see how far the wheels keep rolling in this industry.
Medley Capital Inc, MCC Following a steep decline at the beginning of May, MCC has not seen much volatility in its stock since. Despite strong sell ratings by multiple analysts, the stock’s negative performance has not deterred Chairman, Brook Taube from purchasing just under two million shares of MCC valued at $12 Million. The Taube twins, active insiders within the company, have remained confident Medley Capital. The volume of insider trading hit highs for the company during Q1 2017, and it is worth noting that institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.6% of the company’s outstanding shares.
PBF Energy PBF Refiner PBF makes new multi year lows but it doesn’t stop CEO Nimbley from purchasing another 50,000 shares at $19.69. Trump plans on reducing regulations in the refinery business that might be positive for PBF.
Stein Mart Inc, SMRT: What’s going on with retail? Following Stein Mart’s disappointing 2017 first quarter fiscal reports, four insiders bought a significant amount of stock near the stocks 52 week low of $1.50, trading 36.63% below their 50-day moving average. Since first quarter 2016, SMRT has added nine new stores, yet has seen a decrease in sales and cash flow. With the retail industry switching to e-commerce, the clutter in the brick and mortar industry will make it difficult for any retail company to break the downward trend.To increase cash flow through operations management decided to suspend quarterly dividends.