Do Insiders have better trade timing than others? We think so, but here are 17 trades from last week that may help you decide.
In this week’s report we present ten significant buys and seven significant sells. While not even a month into the third quarter, insiders successfully buying low and selling high seems to be evident, especially on the sell side. This week’s report covers a wide variety of sectors for both buys and sells.
In this report, we examine stocks that C-level officers and directors bought and sold throughout the week ending August 24, 2018.
Insiders sell stock for many reasons, but they generally buy for just one – to make money. As a standard, we only look at material amounts of money, $100 thousand or more, as anything less could just be window dressing.
The bar is different with selling, because the natural state of management is to be sellers. This is because most companies provide significant amounts of management compensation packages as stock. Therefore, with selling, we analyze for unusual patterns, such as insiders selling 25 percent or more of their holdings or multiple insiders selling near 52 week lows.
Another red flag are large planned sale programs that start without warning. We generally ignore 10 percent shareholders as they tend to be OPM (other people’s money) and not the SMART money we are trying to go to school on. We also exempt IPOs and secondaries for a variety of reasons from not being available to the public or more nefarious reasons like trying to provide support for additional fund raising.
Although this info is available for free from the SEC’s Website , Edgar, we subscribe to the Washington Service as they provide a way to manage and make sense of the vast realms of data. Charts display one month of data from the date of our analysis at one day intervals. Credit for charts goes to yahoo.com
To learn more about our strategy, visit our website at The Insiders Fund. We welcome your comments on our analysis.
NOTE: We may own positions, long or short, in any of these names and are under no obligation to disclose that.
Significant Insider Buys
PORTOLA PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. (PTLA)
The Inside Trade: Jeffery Bird, a Director at Portola Pharmaceuticals, purchased 390,000 shares at an average price of $25.84 through a trust where he is a trustee. This buy had a market value of $10.1 million and increased his ownership by 37.7%. These purchases took place over a three day period last week beginning on Tuesday the 21st.
About PTLA: Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops and commercializes therapeutics in the areas of thrombosis, other hematologic disorders, and inflammation.
REED’S INC. (REED)
The Inside Trade: Chairman John Bello purchased 414,477 shares at an average price of $2.49 on Monday, August 20th and Wednesday August 22nd. This buy had a market value of $1 million and increased his ownership by 58.1%. The shares purchased on Monday were direct while the shares purchased on Wednesday were indirect through his family trust and LP.
Reed’s second quarter earnings were released on the 13th which sparked a steady decline to a three month low of $2.30, down $0.60 per share. The decline ended at this price the same day that the Chairman began to make his buys, the 20th. Since that day it has been on a rapid climb and closed the week out at $3.15.
About REED: Reed’s, Inc. develops, manufactures, markets, and sells natural hand-crafted beverages and candies in the United States, Canada, Asia, Europe, Australia, and South America.
LIBERTY LATIN AMERICA LTD. (LILA)
The Inside Trade: The SVP & CFO of Liberty Latin, Christopher Noyes, purchased 20,000 shares at an average price of $17.93 on August 23rd. This buy had a market value of $358.5 thousand and increased his ownership by 593.5%.
Liberty Latin’s share price dropped after their second quarter results to over a two year low on the 20th when it hit $17.50. This gave their CFO an opportunity for a big value buy as three days later he bought 20 thousand shares just before the price closed on Friday at $18.29.
About LILA: Liberty Latin America Ltd. provides various telecommunications services. Its services primarily include video, broadband Internet, fixed-line telephony, and mobile services.
TD AMERITRADE HOLDING CORP (AMTD)
The Inside Trade: Peter deSilva, the EVP of Retail Distribution, purchased 5,000 shares at an average price of $56.73 on August 21st. This buy had a market value of $283.6 thousand and increased his ownership by 20.8%.
The day of a international press release from TD Ameritrade their share price dropped $2.87, and was also the day that their EVP increased his ownership by 20.8%. The price drop was sudden and didn’t last long as it closed Friday at $57.28, up $0.55 from the insiders purchase price.
TD Ameritrade announced the launch of and artificial intelligent backed chat bot for WeChat in Hong Kong. Their press release described it as “the first of its kind in Hong Kong. Retail investors in Hong Kong are now able to do their research, access market information, and get support through one of the most popular social and messaging platforms in Asia.” This adds to their Hong Kong broker dealer that allows retail investor to trade in the U.S. markets, which was announced in January.
About AMTD: TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation provides securities brokerage and related technology-based financial services to retail investors, traders, and independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) in the United States.
WYNDHAM DESTINATIONS, INC. (WYND)
The Inside Trade: The CEO & President of Wyndham Destinations, Michael Brown, purchased $271.1 thousand worth of stock at an average price of $45.20. This came out to 6,000 shares which increased his ownership by 5.9% and took place on August 21st.
About WYND: Wyndham Destinations, Inc. operates as a vacation ownership and exchange company. It provides vacation exchange services and products to owners of vacation ownership interests (VOIs); and manages and markets vacation rental properties, primarily on behalf of independent owners.
STARBUCKS CORP (SBUX)
The Inside Trade: Rosalind Brewer, Group President and COO, purchased 5,000 shares at an average price of $54.04 on August 20th. This buy had a market value of $270 thousand and increased her ownership by 217.2%.
Since August 10th Starbucks share price has been on the rise and their President and COO made a move to capitalize on this. The day after her purchase they announced the release date of the Pumpkin Spice Latte for this year and the price hit its highest price since June 19th, though deals with alibaba and China may have more sway on the stock than their famous fall drink.
About SBUX: Starbucks Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of specialty coffee worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Americas; China/Asia Pacific; Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
ERIE INDEMNITY COMPANY (ERIE)
The Inside Trade: President & CEO Timothy Necastro purchased 1,550 shares at an average price of $127.89 on Tuesday, August 21st. This buy had a market value of $198.2 thousand and increased his ownership by 11.4%.
After a nearly $8 jump in price after their second quarter earnings were released the share price has remained above the $125 mark. The President & CEO still made a large purchase on the 21st even though it was at a significantly higher price than if he would have made it just one month prior. The shares closed Friday at $127.15, the highest they have been since July of 2017.
About ERIE: Erie Indemnity Company operates as a managing attorney-in-fact for the subscribers at the Erie Insurance Exchange in the United States.
COMFORT SYSTEMS USA INC. (FIX)
The Inside Trade: Franklin Meyers, the Chairman of the Board at Comfort Systems increased his holdings by 1.4% with a purchase of 3,047 shares at a market value of $172.9 thousand. This purchase took place on Thursday, August 23rd and was at an average price of $56.76.
Comfort Systems share price jump nearly $6 in a day at the end of July from their second quarter earnings report. The rise in price slowed, but continued until it hit a high of $57.25, up nearly $10 in one month’s time.
About FIX: Comfort Systems USA, Inc. provides mechanical installation, renovation, maintenance, repair, and replacement services for the mechanical services industry in the United States.
ESSENTIAL PROPERTIES REALTY (EPRT)
The Inside Trade: Greg Seibert, the EVP & COO, purchased 8,000 shares which increased his holdings by 3.5%. This buy took place on Wednesday, August 22nd, and was at an average price of $14.31, giving a market value of $114.4 thousand.
EPRT’s share price has been on a steady rise since their earnings report, gaining $0.80 per share in twelve days.
About EPRT: Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc., a real estate company, acquires, owns, and manages single-tenant properties in the United States.
INNERWORKINGS, INC. (INWK)
The Inside Trade: CEO Richard Stoddard increased his ownership by 17.5% by purchasing 13,847 shares at an average price of $7.69. This buy had a market value of $106.4 and took place on Tuesday, August 21st.
On the first of the month the share price dropped $2.66 per share while their earnings report wasn’t scheduled until the 14th. The release sparked an increase in the price that continued until the 21st, the same day that the CEO made his purchase.
About INWK: innerWorkings, Inc. is the leading global marketing execution firm serving Fortune 1000 brands across a wide range of industries. As a comprehensive outsourced enterprise solution, the Company leverages proprietary technology, an extensive supplier network and deep domain expertise to streamline the production of branded materials and retail experiences across geographies and formats.
Significant Insider Sells
BLACK KNIGHT INC. (BKI)
The Inside Trade: Chairman William Foley sold 977,000 shares at an average price of $51.68 on Tuesday, August 21st. This sell had a market value of $50.4 million and decreased his ownership by 16.7%.
In addition to being the Chairman of the board at Black Knight, Foley is also the Vice Chairman at Fidelity National Information Service (FIS) and the owner of the Vegas Golden Knights NHL Team.
About BKI: Black Knight, Inc. provides software, data, and analytics solutions to the mortgage and consumer loan, real estate, and capital market verticals primarily in the United States. It operates through two segments, Software Solutions, and Data and Analytics.
ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC. (ALGN)
The Inside Trade: Two more insiders at Align Technologies made large sales this week for a combined total of 14,000 shares at an average price of $362.31. This trade had a market value of $5.1 million. The VP, Raphael Pascaud, sold 10,500 shares and decreased his ownership by 29.5%. Director Warren Thaler sold 3,500 and decreased his ownership by 2.6%.
In last week’s blog, we covered three insiders who sold a combined 34,170 shares for a market value of $12.5 million. With the addition of these two new insider trades, these values rise to a total of 48,170 shares and a market value of $17.6 million since August 14th.
About ALGN: Align Technology, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a system of clear aligner therapy, intraoral scanners, and computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) digital services
SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS HOLDINGS, INC. (SPR)
The Inside Trade: Charles Chadwell, a Director at Spirit AeroSystems, decreased his ownership by 29.5% on Thursday, August 23rd. He sold 11,500 shares at an average price of $87.33 for a market value of $1 million.
About SPR: Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and supplies commercial aero structures worldwide. It operates through three segments: Fuselage Systems, Propulsion Systems, and Wing Systems.
BOINGO WIRELESS INC. (WIFI)
The Inside Trade: CMO Dawn Callahan, sold 100% of her holdings on Monday and Tuesday last week. This sell had a market value of $942.7 thousand and was 29,953 shares at an average price of $31.47. Maybe this is because of Boingo’s spike and steady performance in August or some other reason. No valuable indication has been provided for the sell as of our report analysis, but we are keeping an eye out.
About WIFI: Boingo Wireless, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides wireless connectivity solutions for smartphones, tablets, laptops, wearables, and other wireless-enabled consumer devices.
UNITED PARCEL SERVICE INC. (UPS)
The Inside Trade: The President of US Operations at UPS, George Willis, sold 4,312 shares at an average price of $121.34 Thursday, August 23rd. This sell had a market value of $523.3 thousand.
About UPS: United Parcel Service, Inc. provides letter and package delivery, specialized transportation, logistics, and financial services. It operates through three segments: U.S. Domestic Package, International Package, and Supply Chain & Freight.
PRIMO WATER CORPORATION (PRMW)
The Inside Trade: Charles Norris, a Director at Primo Water, sold 25,000 shares at an average price of $20.41 for a market value of $510.1 thousand. This sell took place on Monday, August 20th and decreased his holdings by 5.7%.
About PRMW: Primo Water Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides multi-gallon purified bottled water, self-service refill water, and water dispensers in the United States and Canada. It operates in three segments: Refill, Exchange, and Dispensers.
SERVISFIRST BANCSHARES, INC. (SFBS)
The Inside Trade: The EVP / Regional CEO and a Director at ServisFirst sold a combined 68,079 shares for a market value of $2.9 million. The EVP & Regional CEO, Andrew Kattos, sold 25,000 shares to decrease his holdings by 17.1% on August 24th. The Director, Richard Cashino, sold 43,079 shares to decrease his holdings by 5.8% on August 20th.
About SFBS: ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides banking services to individual and corporate customers in the United States.