$PSEC,$BIIB,$TEP,$MDCO,$ETM,$MELI,$ORLY,$LOXO,$SCHW,$INTU,$DATA,$HDP,$PEN,$CBG,$SHAK,$QLYS,$RJF,$DE,$PANW

In this report we examine stocks that C-level officers and directors  bought and sold ending the week of September 22nd, 2017.  Insiders sell stock for a variety of reasons but they generally buy for just one, to make money.  We only look at material amounts of money, $100k or more, as anything less could be window dressing.  The bar is different on selling as the natural state of management is to be sellers.  Most companies provide significant amounts of their compensation packages as stock. Therefore we analyze selling for unusual patterns; such as insider selling 25% or more of their holdings or multiple insiders selling near 52 wk. lows.  Another red flag is large planned sale programs that just start out of the blue. We generally ignore 10% shareholders as they tend to be OPM (other people’s money) and not the SMART money we are trying to go to school on.  Although this info is available for free from the SEC’s Web site , Edgar, we subscribe to the Washington Service as they provide a way to manage and make sense from the realms of data. To learn more about our strategy visit our website at The Insiders Fund. We welcome your comments on our analysis. We may own positions long or short in any of these names and are under no obligation to disclose that-So do your own research.

Buying

  1. Prospect Capital PSEC Chairman John Berry bought $19.6 million at $6.78.  Where does Chairman Berry get all his money as the stock only seems to go down and he continues to buy more.
  2. Biogen BIIB Massive $9.5 million purchase by director Denner makes me wonder if there is something going on with their Alzheimer drug undergoing trials. The consensus opinion is that if there was something game changer in these trials it would have been leaked already so it may be other things that is attracting the buyer, Denner.  I’d take this a bit circumstance.  Although it is certain the Denner is an informed biotech director, on the boards of Amylin and the Medicine Co, the purchase is for Sarissa Capital, a hedge fund he founded.
  3. Tallgrass Energy Partners, TEP if crude oil and gasoline derivative pipelines are the way to secular distinction from Tesla and the numerous electric vehicles slated to roll our in the very near future, why is the Chairman of the Board buying large dollars amounts of TEP.  His most recent purchase of $5.7 million increases his losing bet by 9.7%. The answer is simple. David Dehaemers is investing in natural gas.  In an electrified transportation system, a ton more natural gas will be needed to power the charging of batteries.  We are buying this aggressively.  Did we mention the 9% plus dividend yield?
  4. Medicine Company MDCO  Director Dinner is back in action purchasing $5.1 million of MDCO. Although it is certain the Denner is an informed biotech director, on the boards of Amylin, Biogen, and The Medicine Co, the purchase is for Sarissa Capital, a hedge fund he founded. Another director, though, bought just under $100k so we are going to look more into this one. If we have more to share, we will update the post even after publish so check back.
  5. Entercom Communications ETM  Is a spin-off and merger with CBS Radio assets. They are a leading American media and entertainment company and the #1 creator of live, original, local audio content.  This is an interesting niche, for example, why couldn’t they pick up the blog post we are doing.  Radio needs content to compete with Spotify, Apple, and the like. $4.1 million purchase by insider Field warranties further investigation.
  6. Hostess Brands TWINK. Two insiders purchased a combined $60,000 shares at $12.88-$12.96

Selling

  1. Loxo Oncology LOXO Insiders at Loxo unloaded a combination of stock and options to the tune of $79.3 million with  expirations good for another 6.6 to 7.7 years left. You could say they lack confidence in the future or perhaps they can just print unlimited options.  I’d do more research before I shorted anything in this market. It’s hard.
  2. Scwhab SCHW. Six insiders unloaded $64.8 million in a combination of  stock and options.  The average option had 4.5-7.7 years before expiration. Again a stunning lack in confidence of future value IMHO.
  3. Zion Bancorporation ZION sells unloaded $3 million in a combination of stock and options. with 3.9 to 4.4 years remaining.  Bank stocks have had a great run.  I can’t really blame them but then again wouldn’t you be so much happier to see management buying as opposed to selling?
  4. Intuit INTU 5 insiders sold $56.7 million worth of stock with some option vested only 14 days before being sold with 5.3 years remaining.
  5. Tableau Software DATA 5 different insiders sold $36 million worth of stock. Their appetite for unloading stock has not been diminished even though the stock cratered on Q3 earnings. Tableau has yet to have a profitable GAAP quarter in the four years as a public company. Revenue growth looks like it is slowing.  Tableau is a good short candidate.
  6. Hortonworks, Inc HDP 5 insiders sold $8.3 million worth of stock and options, with the largest having 4.2 years left on them and the next largest amount, $2 million having 6.6 years left. Hortonworks is a fast growing open source big data management software company. It has been public 4 years and has yet to have a profitable GAAP quarter.
  7. Penumbra PEN 4 insiders sold $31.6 million of stock.  Penumbra is a medical device company focused on euro and peripheral vascular conditions.  This $3.59 billion market cap company is trading at 507 trailing 12 months earnings and 264 times trailing  cash flow.  Tell me how this makes any sense at all. I’d be selling stock too.
  8. MuleSoft MULE 4 insiders sold $5.8 million worth of stock in the $1.8 billion market cap company. MULE connects apps, data and devices anywhere, on premises or in the cloud. Don’t expect me to explain what they do but they are growing nicely and gee, maybe one day they may even make money although I wouldn’t bet on it happening anytime soon.  None the less, insiders are doing well.
  9. CBRE Group CBG at least I know what this real estate management company does. 3 insiders sold  $174.4 million worth of stock.
  10. Shake Shack, SHAK 3 insiders sold $42 million worth of this NY based hamburger joint. I hear it’s a great place to eat but public shareholders must be suffering from some indigestion in this faddish joint.
  11. Qualys, QLYS 3 insiders sold $42.5 million worth of stock on this software security maker. QLYS actually makes money and trades at 53 times trailing earnings and just a mere 35 times TTM cash flow.
  12. Raymond James RJF. Brokerage company insiders sold $18.5 million worth of stock taking advantage of record high stock prices.
  13. Deere DE   Deere insiders sold $11.3 million of stock probably taking advantage of lifetime high prices. Deere is a good example of irrational exuberance as revenues show erratic growth and erratic earnings
  14. Palo Alto Networks, PANW Cramer favorite stock may never reach its lofty prior highs but insiders don’t seem to care.  More stock to sale and even more options to print. I can see why you might want to work there and get in on the game but public shareholders should be aware that no one, not one single executive or director has ever bought a single share of this company in the public market place.