Insider Buying picks up Last Week- 57 Buys in 41 Different Companies

For trade, details click on this link to the trades. 

Wow- Insiders are coming back with a vengeance. The S&P was up 0.71% for the week ending the week with new highs on the S&P 500, the Dow, and the QQQ indices. Insiders returned to the playing field with an average return of 2.67% for the week, easily beating the market.  In this blog post, we analyze, 57 insider buys in about 41 different companies. Now you know what I didn’t do with my weekend.  We highlight the insider purchases that stood out, mostly over $200k and personal money, not hedge funds and other people’s money but rather corporate officers and directors. Like the market itself, there is no particular order to the list.  There is a lot of talk about whether value or growth is the best place to be invested but no one really can agree on the definition of either. There are more insiders buying this week than last and as you will see, they are mostly bottom fishers rather than momentum chasers.  Does that make them value buyers?  One thing for certain, they know the value of the businesses they run better than most so, in one sense of the word, they are the quintessential value buyer.

 

Name: Johnson Joia M
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 590, Average Price Paid: $170.40, Cost: $100,536

Name: Sloan Jeffrey Steven
Position: CEO
Shares Bought: 2,946, Average Price Paid: $169.87, Cost: $500,437
Company: Global Payments Inc (GPN)
Global Payments Inc. provides payment technology and software solutions for a card, electronic, check, and digital-based payments in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through three segments: Merchant Solutions, Issuer Solutions, and Business and Consumer Solutions. The Merchant Solutions segment offers authorization services, settlement and funding services, customer support and help-desk functions, chargeback resolution, terminal rental, sales and deployment, payment security services, consolidated billing and statements, and online reporting services. This segment also provides an array of enterprise software solutions that streamline the business operation payroll ss of its customers in various vertical markets; and value-added services, such as point-of-sale solutions, analytic and engagement tools, and services. The Issuer Solutions segment offers solutions that enable financial institutions and retailers to manage their card portfolios through a platform; and commercial payments and ePayables solutions for businesses and governments. The Business and Consumer Solutions segment provides general-purpose reloadable prepaid debit and payroll cards, demand deposit accounts, and other financial service solutions to the underbanked and other consumers and businesses under the Netspend brand. It markets its products and services through direct sales, trade associations, agent and enterprise software providers, referral arrangements with value-added resellers, and independent sales organizations. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

John M. Johnson is an experienced corporate executive and a public and private company director, most recently having served as a chief administrative officer, general counsel, and corporate secretary for Hanesbrands Inc., a leading apparel manufacturer, and marketer. She also oversaw legal, corporate social responsibility, human resources, real estate, and government affairs. Ms. Johnson served on the board of TSYS from 2018 until the closing of the company’s merger with Global Payments in September 2019. In addition, for eight years, Ms. Johnson was a board member for Crawford & Company, the world’s largest independent provider of claims management solutions to the risk management and insurance industry, serving as a member of its Audit Committee. 

As the chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of Global Payments, Jeff Sloan is a decisive leader with deep industry knowledge and over 25 years of experience in financial technology. Jeff joined Global Payments as president in 2010 and became a chief executive officer in 2013. Before joining Global Payments, Jeff was a partner and the worldwide head of the Financial Technology Group in New York for Goldman, Sachs & Co. He pioneered the development of the payments practice in investment banking, where he led many of the industry’s landmark transactions over two decades.

Opinion: Although $500k is nothing to sneeze at, it represents about 1% of CEO Sloan’s holdings and it’s his first open-market purchase. It’s also coming on the back of a relatively big earnings-related sell-off, dropping nearly 30 points on 8/2 after Q2 earnings.  It’s all the more perplexing since they beat the consensus number and raised guidance.  Several analysts were perplexed at the sell-off:

“….compelling buying opportunity..”-Cowen

“..perplexing” Citi

“Legacy asset concerns” overdone and buy the weakness before analyst day Sept 8th.

“Selling pressure due to Square’s acquisition of Afterpay” Rosenblatt

Global Payments has acquired 19 companies including 7 in the last 5 years.  A total of 7 acquisitions came from private equity firms.  This always creates a stock overhang as P.E. firms are under continual obligations to return money to shareholders and that creates an unknown stock overhang. 

GPN is a bounce candidate.  Go out on a date with her back to $195 but don’t fall in love until the company can convince you of a strong organic growth rate.

Name: Hendrickson Carey P
Position: CFO
Shares Bought: 1,000, Average Price Paid: $112.85, Cost: $112,850

Name: Chapman Harry S
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 2,020, Average Price Paid: $116.84, Cost: $236,026
Company: US Physical Therapy Inc. (USPH)
Founded in 1990, U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. operates over 560 outpatient physical therapy clinics in 39 states. The Company’s clinics provide preventative and post-operative care for various orthopedic-related disorders and sports-related injuries, treatment for neurologically-related injuries, and rehabilitation of injured workers. In addition to owning and operating clinics, the Company manages 38 physical therapy facilities for unaffiliated third parties, including hospitals and physician groups. The Company also has an industrial injury prevention business that provides onsite services for client’s employees, including injury prevention and rehabilitation, performance optimization, post-offer employment testing, functional capacity evaluations, and ergonomic assessments. U.S. Physical Therapy is a publicly held company that operates hundreds of outpatient physical and occupational therapy clinics in over 41 states. The Company’s clinics provide acute, post-operative, and preventative care for various orthopedic and neurologic disorders, including sports and work-related injuries. The company’s unique nature is its operating structure – the Company creates partnerships that are developed and operated with a local owner who shares in the clinic’s profits. U.S. Physical Therapy also buys into existing physical therapy practices.

Carey P. Hendrickson has served as the Chief Financial Officer of Capital Senior Living Corporation (NYSE: CSU), one of the nation’s largest operators of independent living, assisted living, and memory care communities for senior adults. From 2010 through 2014, he served as the Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Belo Corp. (NYSE: ACH). This television company-owned and operated network-affiliated television stations and their associated websites (“Belo”). Before serving in such a capacity, Mr. Hendrickson served Belo in various roles, including Senior Vice President/Chief Accounting Officer, Vice President/Human Resources, Vice President/Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, and Vice President/Strategic & Financial Planning.

Harry S. Chapman has served on our Board since August 30, 2010. Mr. Chapman is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Chapman Schewe, Inc., a healthcare insurance and employee benefits consulting firm. Since January 1, 2013, also serves as Managing Director with Higginbotham, an insurance, risk management, and financial services firm. Previously, he served as a Corporate Senior Vice-President and Managed Care Officer of CIGNA’s South Central Region, responsible for HMO and PPO plans in several states. Chapman’s experience also includes serving as head of EQUICOR’s Health Plan and sales operation in Houston and as a Regional Vice-President for Lincoln National Insurance Company’s Central Region.

Opinion:  This stock trades by appointment only, only 19.463 shares traded on Friday.

Name: Nolan Peter J
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 3,950, Average Price Paid: $81.93, Cost: $323,608
Company: Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI)
Activision Blizzard, Inc. connects and engages the world through epic entertainment. A member of the Fortune 500 and S&P 500, Activision Blizzard is a leading interactive entertainment company. It delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users around the world through franchises including Activision’s Call of Duty® and Crash Bandicoot™, Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Hearthstone®, Diablo®, and StarCraft®, and King’s Candy Crush™, Bubble Witch™, and Farm Heroes™. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Blizzard has operations throughout the world.  Activision Blizzard’s history goes back more than 40 years. Their path to industry leadership started from humble beginnings. Two incredible gaming brands, Activision and Blizzard Entertainment merged, bringing together the best creative talent in gaming. The acquisition of King in 2016 further strengthened our vision to bring the world together through epic entertainment. Today, Activision Blizzard celebrates each of our business segments, and They’ve had a lot of fun along the way.  The company is traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol ATVI, and since 2015 has been one of the stocks that make up the S&P 500. Activision Blizzard currently includes five business units: Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, King, Major League Gaming, and Activision Blizzard Studios. The company owns and operates other studios under an independent studios model under Activision Publishing, including Treyarch, Infinity Ward, High Moon Studios, and Toys for Bob. Among significant intellectual properties produced by Activision Blizzard are Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk’s, Spyro/Skylanders, World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, and Candy Crush Saga.

Mr. Nolan has been a director of Activision Blizzard since October 2013. Mr. Nolan is a senior advisor to Leonard Green & Partners, L.P., and was previously the managing partner of Leonard Green & Partners. Before becoming a partner at Leonard Green & Partners in 1997, Mr. Nolan served as a managing director and the co-head of Donaldson, Lufkin, and Jenrette’s Los Angeles Investment Banking Division from 1990 to 1997, as a first vice president in corporate finance at Drexel Burnham Lambert from 1986 to 1990, and as a vice president at Prudential Securities. Mr. Nolan served on the Company’s Board from December 2003 until July 2008, when he resigned in connection with the combination of Activision and Vivendi Games.

Opinion: My two boys, now young men grew up playing Call of Duty.  Gaming has turned into one of the biggest businesses in the world and Activision is at the pinnacle. It’s good to see Peter Nolan buying as Activision has lagged the market now for almost three years. Is this about to change?  Activision has had a lot of negative publicity from employees boycotting the company’ on its sexist frat boy culture culminating with a workplace lawsuit by the State of California.  Activision is trading at a P/E of 25.13, close to its lowest point in the last five years. It’s traded between 23.81 and 53.36 trailing P/E.  ATVI is a strong buy here.  Be patient, you’ll be rewarded.

 

Name: Shulman Douglas H
Position: CEO
Shares Bought: 8,575, Average Price Paid: $58.32, Cost: $500,066
Company: OneMain Holdings Inc. (OMF)
OneMain Holdings, Inc. is an American financial services holding company headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, with central offices throughout the United States. The company wholly owns OneMain Finance Corporation and its subsidiaries, through which it operates in the consumer finance and insurance industries as OneMain Financial. Its business primarily focuses on providing personal loans and optional insurance products to customers with limited access to traditional lenders, such as banks and credit card companies. OneMain’s roots stretch back to 1912 when Alexander E. Duncan founded it as a Commercial Credit Company in Baltimore, Maryland. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, Commercial Credit Company eventually became a subsidiary of Citigroup and was known as CitiFinancial. After the 2008 financial crisis, Citigroup reorganized its business, with the company regarding CitiFinancial as a non-core business that it renamed to OneMain Financial and sought to sell.

Meanwhile, Interstate Finance Corporation was founded in Evansville in 1920 and experienced its series of mergers and acquisitions until it became American General Finance, the consumer finance subsidiary of AIG. In November 2010, Fortress Investment Group purchased a majority stake in American General Finance and renamed it Springleaf Financial. In November 2015, Springleaf Financial acquired OneMain Financial, with OneMain becoming the surviving brand.

Doug Shulman is Chairman and CEO of OneMain Financial. He leads the nation’s largest non-prime lender focused on improving the financial well-being of millions of hardworking Americans by providing responsible lending products. Doug has significant experience managing large, complex organizations at the intersection of financial services, data, and technology. He came to OneMain in 2018 from BNY Mellon, where he served as Senior Executive Vice President, Global Head of Client Service Delivery, and was a member of the Executive Committee. Earlier in his career, Doug was an entrepreneur, a vice president at a private investment firm, and part of the founding team that launched Teach for America, a national nonprofit that places teachers in low-income communities.

Opinion:  Banks have been running.  Nonprime credit lenders will be the first to fall and hardest hit if the economy takes a turn for the worse.   The last time Schulman, the CEO, bought stock was in March 2020 for half the price.  I would say I bet he wished he bought more but the Company awards him stock bonuses of restricted stock and options so he doesn’t really need to buy any. This latest buy is a vote of confidence.  A strong economy is good for the banking sector. It’s not a name we will buy but the stock will probably work.

 

Name: Macadam Stephen E
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 1,850, Average Price Paid: $56.24, Cost: $104,052
Company: Louisiana-pacific Corp (LPX)
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, commonly known as “LP,” is an American building materials manufacturer. It was founded in 1973 and is currently based in Nashville, Tennessee. LP pioneered the U.S. production of oriented strand board (OSB) panels. Today, LP is the world’s largest producer of OSB and manufactures engineered wood building products.LP products are sold to builders and homeowners through building materials distributors, dealers, and retail home centers. As a proven leader in high-performance building solutions, LP Building Solutions manufactures uniquely engineered, innovative building products that meet the demands and needs of the building industry. Its extensive product portfolio includes durable and dependable exterior siding and trim systems, engineered wood framing and structural panels for single-family homes, multifamily projects, repair & remodel markets, light commercial facilities, and outdoor buildings. LP also provides industry-leading service and warranties to help customers build more innovative, better, and faster. For more information, visit LPCorp.com. Its extensive offerings include innovative and dependable building products and accessories, such as ® SmartSide® Trim & Siding, LP Structural Solutions portfolio (LP WeatherLogic® Air & Water Barrier, LP Legacy® Premium Sub-Flooring, LP® TechShield® Radiant Barrier, LP® FlameBlock® Fire-Rated Sheathing and more), oriented strand board (OSB), LP® TopNotch® Sub-Flooring, LP, LP® Outdoor Building Solutions®, and LP Elements® Performance Fencing. In addition to product solutions, LP provides industry-leading service and warranties. Since its founding in 1972, LP has been Building a Better World™ by helping customers construct beautiful, durable homes. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, LP operates 25 plants across the U.S., Canada, Chile, and Brazil.

Stephen E. Macadam, age 60, became a director of LP in 2019. He is the vice-chairperson of LP’s Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee and a Finance and Audit Committee member. Mr. Macadam has served as Chief Executive Officer and President of EnPro Industries, Inc., a manufacturing company, since April 2008. Before joining EnPro Industries, Inc., he was Chief Executive Officer of BlueLinx Inc., a building products wholesaler, from October 2005 to March 2008. Mr. Macadam was President and Chief Executive Officer of Consolidated Container Company from 2001 to 2005. From March 1998 until August 2001, he held executive positions with Georgia-Pacific Corp. Mr. Macadam held increasing responsibility with McKinsey and Company, Inc. from 1988 until 1998. He also serves as a director of Valvoline and EnPro Industries.

Opinion:  This is a big purchase for us. We like the home construction/improvement market and think the recent pullback in the names provides a buying opportunity.  The CFO bought $500k worth of stock last week and we highlighted in our post last week.

 

Name: Agwunobi John O
Position: CEO Chairman
Shares Bought:5,200, Average Price Paid:$48.19, Cost:$250,565
Company: Herbalife Nutrition Ltd (HLF)
Herbalife Nutrition is a global multi-level marketing (MLM) corporation that develops and sells dietary supplements. Mark Hughes founded the company in 1980, and it employs an estimated 8,900 people worldwide. The business is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, with its corporate headquarters located in Los Angeles, California. The company operates in 94 countries through a network of approximately 4.5 million independent distributors and members. The company has been criticized by, among others, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital, who claimed in 2012 that Herbalife operates a “sophisticated pyramid scheme” after taking a $1 billion short position in Herbalife stock. Herbalife agreed to “fundamentally restructure” its business in the U.S. but not worldwide and pay a $200 million fine as part of a 2016 settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) following accusations of it being a pyramid scheme. In November 2017, Ackman’s hedge fund closed out its short position in Herbalife.

John Agwunobi is CEO and Chairman of Herbalife Nutrition, a premier global nutrition company that serves customers in 95 markets. Agwunobi is a passionate proponent of Herbalife Nutrition’s mission to improve the nutrition habits of people worldwide, strengthening our communities and providing entrepreneurs a proven business opportunity to earn a part- or full-time income. As chief executive officer, he sets the strategy for Herbalife Nutrition, overseeing all aspects of the Company’s growth and ensuring that the Company continues to be recognized worldwide as a leading nutrition company, with a keen focus on initiatives that can positively impact issues affecting global society, including obesity, healthy aging, health care costs, and entrepreneurship.

Opinion: If investors can’t get excited about NuSkins (NUS), which prints money,  I certainly don’t see it happening with Herbalife again in spite of the famous Ackman Icahnn duel. If you’re looking for cheap entertainment check out that famous deul. There are non better.

 

Name: Greene Barry E
Position: CEO
Shares Bought: 23,640, Average Price Paid: $43.15, Cost: $1,020,054
Company: Sage Therapeutics Inc. (SAGE)
Sage is a biopharmaceutical company committed to developing novel therapies with the potential to transform the lives of people with debilitating disorders of the brain. They are pursuing new pathways with the goal of improving brain health, and their depression, neurology and neuropsychiatry franchise programs aim to change how brain disorders are thought about and treated. Their mission is to make medicines that matter so people can get better, sooner. Brain health and function depend on the interaction of these circuits. Navigating these complex circuits is a challenge, but a welcome opportunity for the teams at Sage as they seek to develop novel medicines. Sage is a place where unconventional thinking to solve problems with new ideas is welcome – and where unconventional thinkers can imagine what’s possible and do big things.

Barry E. Greene joined Sage as CEO in December of 2020, bringing more than 30 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience to this position. He previously joined the Sage Board of Directors in October of 2020. Prior to Sage, he served as president of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since 2007, and he previously held the position of the chief operating officer when he first joined the company in 2003. Prior to his 17-year tenure at Alnylam, Mr. Greene was the general manager of Oncology at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where he led the Company’s global strategy and execution for its oncology business, including strategic business direction and execution, culminating in the successful U.S.

Opinion:

Sage Therapeutics CEO bought $1 million worth of this one product biotech.  The stock has been butchered and it is very encouraging to see the CEO spend that much of his own money in a risky venture. It’s hard though for me to get excited about Zulpresso, an intravenous drug for postpartum depression. I share the view of  RBC Capital analyst Brian Abrahams as he lowered the firm’s price target on Sage Therapeutics to $55 from $60 and keeps a Sector Perform rating on the shares. Operating expenditures in the company’s Q2 results were “somewhat higher” than anticipated, though sentiment on the stock will be driven by the outcome of near-term regulatory discussions and the CORAL trial, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Abrahams adds that he remains on the sidelines given his view of a more modest long-term commercial opportunity for Zuranolone.

Sage reported Q2 revenue $1.6M, consensus $2.01M. Sage anticipates cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of more than $1.7B at end of 2021. The company does not anticipate receipt of any milestone payments from collaborations in 2021.

 The results of the Phase 3 Coral trial on Zuranolone are due in late 2021. Sage focuses their research and development efforts on the modulation of GABA and NMDA receptors—two critical neurotransmitter systems. The GABA system is the major inhibitory signaling pathway of the brain and central nervous system (CNS); NMDA is the major excitatory pathway. Both contribute significantly to regulating CNS function. Dysfunction in these two systems is known to be at the core of numerous depressive, neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Canaccord analyst Sumant Kulkarni lowered the firm’s price target on Sage Therapeutics to $96 from $119 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The analyst believes an FDA-approved zura could still be a very meaningful opportunity and said his valuation thesis included no pipeline value for anything other than zura, and a well-capitalized current enterprise value of sub-$700m.

The bottom line, big money can be made and lost with biotech stocks.  When a CEO buys $1 million worth of his company’s stock, investors should have some faith at $43 when the company has no debt and $36 worth of cash. Sage was as high as $160 per share. 

 

 

 

Name: Oneal E Stanley
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 15,400, Average Price Paid: $32.45, Cost: $499,741

Name: Doty Elmer L
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 3,000, Average Price Paid: $31.82, Cost: $95,460
Company: Arconic Corp. (ARNC)
Arconic Corporation manufactures and sells aluminum sheets, plates, extrusions, and architectural products in the United States, Hungary, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Rolled Products, Extrusions, and Building and Construction Systems. The Rolled Products segment provides a range of aluminum sheet and plate products for ground transportation, aerospace, industrial, and packaging markets. The Extrusions segment offers extruded products, including aerospace shapes, automotive shapes, seamless tubes, hollows, mortar fins, and high-strength rods and bars for ground transportation, aerospace, and industrial markets. The Building and Construction Systems segment provides various products and building envelope solutions, such as entrances, curtain walls, windows, composite panels, and coil-coated sheets for fabricators and glazing subcontractors. The company was formerly known as Arconic Rolled Products Corporation and changed its name to Arconic Corporation in April 2020. Arconic Corporation was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Mr. O’Neal served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. until October 2007. Mr. O’Neal’s extensive leadership, executive, investment banking experience, and financial expertise provide the Board with valuable insight and perspective. He became Chief Executive Officer of Merrill Lynch in 2002 and was elected Chairman of the Board in 2003. Before joining Merrill Lynch, Mr. O’Neal was employed at General Motors Corporation, where he held a number of financial positions of increasing responsibility.

Mr. Doty served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Arconic Inc. from February 2019 to August 2019. Previously, Mr. Doty was an Operating Executive at The Carlyle Group LP, international private equity, alternative asset management, and financial services corporation, where he previously held a similar position in 2012. Building on his broad aerospace experience, including serving as a CEO and business executive with several industry leaders, Mr. Doty has a deep knowledge of the aerospace and defense markets and strong relationships with key customers. This experience enables him to make a valuable contribution to the Board’s considerations of investments and other portfolio matters.

Opinion: Arconic moved nicely last week, up about 10% from where insiders bought it. Insiders have been steady buyers of this Alcoa aluminum spin-off since the initial public offering around May of 2020 in the $$10-$11 price range.  It’s encouraging to see insiders buying at a lifetime high in price like last week Director Oneal purchase $32.45.  With its significant pension obligations and complex financials, cyclicality of business, ARNC is just too difficult for me to wrap my head around it. That’s probably why it will work as well. It’s more than tripled in the last 15 months.

 

Name: Myers Franklin
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 5,000, Average Price Paid: $29.20, Cost: $146,000

Name: Jennings Michael
Position: CEO
Shares Bought: 7,500, Average Price Paid: $29.07, Cost: $218,025
Company: HollyFrontier Corp (HFC)
HollyFrontier Corporation, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is an independent petroleum refiner and marketer that produces high-value light products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and other specialty products. HollyFrontier owns and operates refineries located in Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Utah and markets its refined products principally in the Southwest U.S., the Rocky Mountains extending into the Pacific Northwest, and other neighboring Plains states. In addition, HollyFrontier produces base oils and other specialized lubricants in the U.S., Canada, and the Netherlands and exports products to more than 80 countries. HollyFrontier also owns a 57% limited partner interest and a non-economic general partner interest in Holly Energy Partners, L.P., a master limited partnership that provides petroleum product and crude oil transportation, terminalling, storage, and throughput services to the petroleum industry, including HollyFrontier Corporation subsidiaries.

Mr. Myers has served as the Chairman of the Board of HollyFrontier since February 2019. Mr. Myers has served as a senior advisor of Quantum Energy Partners, a private equity firm, since February 2013. Myers served as an operating advisor to Paine & Partners, LLC, a private equity firm, from 2009 through 2012 and as Senior Advisor to Cameron International Corporation, a publicly-traded provider of flow equipment products, from 2008 until 2009. He served Cameron in various other capacities, including as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2003 through 2008, President of Cameron’s compression business from 1998 through 2001, and Senior Vice President and General Counsel from 1995 through 1999.

Mr. Jennings has served as Chief Executive Officer of Holly Logistic Services, L.L.C. (“HLS”), the general partner of the general partner of Holly Energy Partners, L.P., since January 2020 and as the Chairman of the Board of HLS since November 2017. Mr. Jennings previously served as Chief Executive Officer of HLS from January 2014 to November 2016 and as President of HLS from October 2015 to February 2016. Mr. Jennings has served as Chief Executive Officer and President of HollyFrontier Corporation (“HFC”) since January 2020. Mr. Jennings served as Executive Vice President of HFC from November 2019 to January 2020, as Executive Chairman of HFC from January 2016 until January 2017, and as the Chief Executive Officer and President of HFC from the merger of Holly Corporation and Frontier Oil Corporation in July 2011 until January 2016.

Opinion:  Insiders were buying HollyFrontier a few months ago in March and May and are losing money on it. I know as we bought some then. It’s very encouraging to see them back buying more.  It will take more than good results to move out of favor of oil and gas stocks.  There is a wholesale divesting program going on with ESG investing so it’s best not to get caught up in it. It just illustrates that making money in the stock market is part business, part fashion show.  We bought HFC in part on the future growth of biodiesel.  Holly just bought a refinery in Cheyenne that they are converting to biodiesel.  The chart looks good for a rebound.

 

Name: Vitale Robert V
Position: Chairman
Shares Bought: 10,300, Average Price Paid: $29.10, Cost: $299,745
Company: Bellring Brands Inc. (BRBR)
BellRing Brands, Inc. is a holding company operating in the global convenient nutrition category. Its primary brands, Premier Protein® and Dymatize® comprise all major product forms, including ready-to-drink protein shakes, powders, and nutrition bars. They are distributed across the club, food, drug, mass, eCommerce, specialty, and convenience channels. BellRing is a company of momentum and a rapidly growing leader in the global convenient nutrition category. Their primary brands, Premier Protein®, Dymatize®, and PowerBar®, appeal to a broad range of consumers across all primary product forms, including ready-to-drink protein shakes, powders, and nutrition bars, and are distributed across a diverse network of channels including club, food, drug, mass, eCommerce, specialty and convenience. They believe nutrition is at the core of a healthy world, which is why They are driven to deliver nutrition products that better meet the needs of all consumers. BellRing’s commitment to consumers is to strive to make highly effective products that deliver best-in-class Nutritionals and superior taste. They are a team of builders and innovators united by their passion for bringing great-tasting nutrition to the world. BellRing Brands, Inc. was established in October 2019 through an Initial Public Offering on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BRBR). Their company has a tradition to celebrate the big and small wins—everything from extensive distribution wins to personal ones, like engagements.

Robert V. Vitale serves as Independent Director of the Company. Mr. Vitale is President and Chief Executive Officer of Post Holdings, Inc. Post is a diversified food company with leading positions in ready-to-eat cereal, value-added egg products, sports nutrition, and various private brand categories. Rob joined Post in 2011 as its Chief Financial Officer. Before joining Post, Rob led AHM Financial Group, LLC (2006-2011), an insurance brokerage and wealth management firm, and was a partner in Westgate Equity Partners, LLC, a consumer products private equity firm (1996-2006).

Opinion: Bellring brands is not the kind of stock I want to own.  I can’t get excited about nutrition bars. It’s a crowded field with dubious health claims.

 

Name: Chazen Stephen I
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 20,000, Average Price Paid: $25.76, Cost:$515,200
Company: Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY)
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (often abbreviated Oxy in reference to its ticker symbol and logo) is an American company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration in the United States, the Middle East, and Colombia, as well as petrochemical manufacturing in the United States, Canada, and Chile. It is organized in Delaware and headquartered in Houston. The company is ranked 167th on the Fortune 500 and 669th on the Forbes Global 2000. Occidental is an international energy company with assets in the United States, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. They are one of the largest oil producers in the U.S., including a leading producer in the Permian and DJ basins and the offshore Gulf of Mexico. Their midstream and marketing segment provides flow assurance and maximizes the value of their oil and gas. Their chemical subsidiary OxyChem manufactures the building blocks for life-enhancing products. Their Oxy Low Carbon Ventures subsidiary is advancing leading-edge technologies and business solutions that economically grow their business while reducing emissions. They are committed to using their global leadership in carbon management to advance a lower-carbon world.

Mr. Chazen is the President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of Magnolia Oil & Gas Corporation, a publicly traded exploration and production company. Prior to that, Mr. Chazen was President and Chief Executive Officer of Occidental from May 2011 to April 2016 and served as a member of the Board from May 2010 to May 2017. Mr. Chazen served as Occidental’s President and Chief Operating Officer from 2010 to 2011; President and Chief Financial Officer from 2007 to 2010; Chief Financial Officer and Senior Executive Vice President from 2004 to 2007; Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President-Corporate Development from 1999 to 2004; and Executive Vice President-Corporate Development from 1994 to 1999.​​

Opinion:  Not again. Former CEO now buying OXY? He served as Occidental’s  President from December 2007 until 2016 and as its Chief Executive Officer from May 5, 2011, through April 29, 2016. Normally that would be a good thing to have the former CEO and Board members buying your stock.

Magnolia Oil and Gas Corp. CEO Stephen Chazen was appointed chairman in an apparent concession to activist shareholder Carl Icahn. Chazen is an ally of Icahn, a forceful critic of Oxy CEO Vicki Hollub and of Oxy’s $57 billion acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. in May of 2019.

Once again, and almost against all odds including the drop in the price of oil into negative numbers in the Pandemic induced rout, Icahn, looks like he will once again be the winner.  It is just a testament to his staying power, patience, and brilliance as an investor.  Icahn bought a massive stake in OXY after its stock price collapsed from the ill-timed and overpriced $55 billion acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum.  Oil prices collapsed and most market pundits wrote it off as one of the famed investor’s failures.

Now oil has recovered nicely, the stock has rebounded and Chazaen buying tells me that more is on the way.  The oil and gas sector has numerous insiders buying.  I also believe the death of the internal combustion engine is one of the greatest popular delusions of a lifetime. It will prove far harder and take far longer to wean the transportation industry off of hydrocarbons.  In the interim, the demand for hydrocarbons will continue to rise.  Oxy intends to play a meaningful role in carbon recapture as well.  The bottom line, OXY is a buy.

 

Name: Olsen Kathleen
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 9,700, Average Price Paid: $25.47, Cost:$247,088
Company: Green Brick Partners Inc. (GRBK)
Green Brick Partners, Inc. is a publicly traded company listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol “GRBK.” Green Brick Partners, Inc. is a diversified homebuilding and land development company that acquires and develops land and provides lots and equity or construction financing to its subsidiary homebuilders or affiliates that operate in Texas, Georgia, Florida, and Colorado.

They are founded on the belief that locally-focused land development is the starting point for builders’ profitability. Both homebuilding and land development are best executed on a local, decentralized basis. They manage land risk through rigorous centralized underwriting and provide Their subsidiary homebuilders with centralized state-of-the-art operational support in IT systems, accounting, operational systems, national purchasing, marketing analytics, and human resource management. Additionally, their mortgage and title operations make buying a home a seamless experience and provide real-time visibility to our buyers. In the future, they intend to grow both organically and by purchasing more builders. This strategy was recently used in the acquisition of an 80% majority ownership of GHO Homes. They will also purchase 100% of a builder or do a start-up in a significant market as they did with Trophy Signature Homes, but only if the top-level management team has a positive long-term track record and reputation in its local market. Their ultimate goal is to build neighborhoods with timeless, classic architecture interwoven with the latest technological advancements that provide superior long-term returns for their investors, stakeholders, residents, and cities they build in.

Kathleen (Kathy) Olsen serves as Independent Director of the Company. Ms. Olsen has been a private investor. From 1999 through 2011, Ms. Olsen served as Chief Financial Officer of Eminence Capital, LLC, a long/short global equity fund. From 1993 to 1999, Ms. Olsen served as an audit manager, specializing in investment partnerships, at Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP, a public accounting firm located in New York City. Ms. Olsen received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the State University of New York at Albany. Ms. Olsen is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Opinion:  Greenbrick is basically the XHB (S&P Homebuilders ETF) on steroids. If you think homebuilders continue to do well, GRBK is one of the few builders with insider buying.  We prefer the suppliers like Louisiana Pacific  LPX and Cornerstone Building Brands, CNR.

 

Name: Chen Bihua
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 200,000, Average Price Paid: $22.10, Cost: $4,420,000
Company: Erasca Inc. (ERAS)

Months after finally revealing its first weapons against cancer, Erasca has pulled off a $300 million IPO. The proceeds will propel an SHP2 inhibitor and an ERK inhibitor through the clinic and get at least one more prospect into human trials. Like many of its peers, the San Diego-based biotech filed to raise up to $100 million in an IPO last month, amending that to as much as $280 million on Monday, according to a securities filing. Erasca eventually snagged $300 million by offering 1.25 million, or 7%, more shares than originally planned.

The company is developing treatments for cancers driven by the RAS/MAPK pathway, one of the most commonly mutated pathways in cancer. Its pipeline is divided into three broad buckets: treatments that target RAS itself; treatments that target proteins upstream or downstream of RAS, such as SHP2 and ERK; and treatments that target

Erasca is a clinical-stage precision oncology company driven by a bold mission—to erase cancer. Their mission at Erasca is embedded in their name: To erase cancer. Energized by recent scientific discoveries and advances in drugging various biological drivers of cancer, they are committed to solving oncology’s most complicated problems. They have assembled a proven team and joined forces with world-class collaborators who embrace their ambitious goals. In addition to their initial programs for undisclosed cancer targets, they seek to expand their pipeline through partnerships with academic scientists and biopharmaceutical companies that revealed potential new mechanisms for precision oncology. Importantly, Erasca isn’t tied to one form of drug or any singular approach to treating cancer. Keeping an open mind about what is possible will achieve the most outstanding results for patients everywhere they are on a journey to shut down one of cancer’s most commonly mutated signaling cascades, the RAS/MAPK pathway, which affects approximately 5.5 million lives each year worldwide. Their promising pipeline targets the RAS/MAPK pathway at virtually every turn, endowing them with the potential to make a transformative difference in the treatment and lives of people suffering from a wide range of devastating cancers—bringing hope, where there was little, that the future could be brighter and cancer-free.

Bihua is the founder of Cormorant Asset Management, LP (“Cormorant”), an investment firm focused on innovative biotechnology, medical technology, and life science companies with over $3 billion assets under management. Bihua manages Cormorant’s public fund as well as its private funds. Before founding Cormorant, she managed a separately managed account focused on the healthcare sector as a sub-adviser to a large, multi-strategy hedge fund based in New York.

Opinion:  I don’t chase biotechs but when you see an insider paying up for a company that just went public, it has to merit your attention. Especially when this wasn’t even that hot of an IPO. Erasca, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERAS) opened for trading at $15.90 on July 16th after pricing 18,750,000 shares of common stock at an initial public offering price of $16.00 per share. ERAS racked up a bunch of perfunctory selling group buy recommendations after the waiting period.

 

 

Name: Pittman Robert W
Position: CEO
Shares Bought: 47,984, Average Price Paid: $21.33, Cost: $1,023,695
Company: iHeartMedia Inc. (IHRT)
iHeartMedia, Inc. operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Audio and Audio & Media Services. The Audio segment offers broadcast radio, digital, mobile, podcasts, social, program syndication, traffic, weather, news, and sports data distribution, and on-demand entertainment, as well as live events, including mobile platforms and products; and operates Premiere Networks, a national radio network that produces, distributes, or represents approximately 120 syndicated radio programs and services to approximately 6,500 radio station affiliates. It also delivers real-time traffic and incident information, weather updates, sports, and news through approximately 2,100 radio stations and 170 television affiliates, and Internet and mobile partnerships. As of December 31, 2020, this segment owned 858 radio stations, including 244 AM and 614 FM radio stations. The Audio and Media Services segment engages in the media representation business. This segment also provides broadcast and webcast software, such as radio station automation, music scheduling, HD2 solutions, newsroom software, audio logging and archiving single station automation, and contest tracking software; and real-time audio recognition technology to approximately 9,000 radio stations, television music channels, cable companies, satellite music networks, and Internet stations. The company was formerly known as CC Media Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to iHeartMedia, Inc. in September 2014. iHeartMedia, Inc. is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

Robert W. Pittman serves as Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Mr. Pittman served as Chairman of Media and Entertainment Platforms for iHeartMedia and iHeartCommunications since November 2010. He has been a member of and an investor in Pilot Group, a private equity investment company, since April 2003. Mr. Pittman was formerly Chief Operating Officer of AOL Time Warner, Inc. Mr. Pittman serves on the boards of numerous charitable organizations, including the Alliance for Lupus Research, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, and the Robin Hood Foundation, where he has served as past Chairman. Mr. Pittman was selected to serve as a member of their Board because he served as their Chief Executive Officer, and his extensive media experience was gained through the course of his career.

Opinion:  I would not bet against Pittman.  IHRT stock chart speaks for itself. The company is a lot more than radio stations now. The iHeart Podcast Network s home to more than 750 original podcasts with over 250M downloads each month.

 

Name: Hipsher Bryan T
Position: CFO
Shares Bought: 3,000, Average Price Paid: $18.63, Cost: $55,890

Name: Reinhardt Joseph A
Position: Chief Legal Officer
Shares Bought: 10,783, Average Price Paid: $18.56, Cost: $200,156

Name: Jabbour Anthony M
Position: CEO
Shares Bought: 109,806, Average Price Paid: $18.21, Cost: $1,999,995
Company: Dun & Bradstreet Holdings Inc. (DNB)
The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation is an American company that provides commercial data, analytics, and insights for businesses. It is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. They are a leading global provider of B2B data, insights, and AI-driven platforms that help organizations worldwide grow and thrive. The Dun & Bradstreet Data Cloud fuels solutions and delivers insights that empower customers to grow revenue, increase margins, build stronger relationships, and help them stay compliant – even in changing times. Since 1841, companies of every size have relied on us to help them manage risk and reveal opportunities. Dun & Bradstreet is a corporation that offers information on commercial credit as well as reports on businesses. Most notably, Dun & Bradstreet is recognizable for its Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS numbers); these generate business information reports for more than 100 million companies around the globe. The company offers a wide range of products and services for risk and finance, operations and supply, and sales and marketing professionals, as well as research and insights on global business issues, serving customers in government and industries such as communications, technology, strategic financial services, and retail, telecommunications, and manufacturing markets.

Bryan Hipsher is the Chief Financial Officer for Dun & Bradstreet, a leading global business decisioning data and analytics provider. In this role, Bryan is responsible for the overall financial management of the company, including controllership, treasury, investor relations, financial planning and analysis, financial reporting, and capital allocation strategy. Before joining Dun & Bradstreet, Bryan was Senior Vice President of Finance for Black Knight, Inc., a premier provider of integrated software, data, and analytics to the mortgage industry. There, he served as the primary finance liaison for the company, responsible for controllership, financial planning and analysis, investor relations, and corporate development.

Mr. Joseph A. Reinhardt, III, is a Chief Legal Officer at Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc. Mr. Reinhardt was previously employed as an Executive Vice President by Fidelity National Financial, Inc. and a General Counsel by Fidelity National Title Group, Inc. Joseph has made over two trades of the Dun & Bradstreet stock since 2020, according to the Form 4 filled with the SEC. Most recently, Joseph bought 10,783 units of DNB stock worth $200,132 on 10 August 2021.

Anthony M. Jabbour is Chief Executive Officer, Director of the Company. Mr. Jabbour has also served as the Chief Executive Officer and a director of D&B since February 2019.  a leading global provider of business decisioning data and analytics. Anthony’s focus on growth and innovation is foundational to his strong track record of leading successful businesses throughout his career. Mr. Jabbour worked for the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and IBM’s Global Services group, managing complex client projects and relationships. Mr. Jabbour’s qualifications to serve on the Black Knight board of directors include his extensive experience in leadership roles with financial services and technology companies, resulting in his deep knowledge of our business and industry and strong leadership abilities.

Opinion: I don’t care how much stock Jabbour buys in DNB unless you tell me he is going to buy the whole company.  DNB is a perfect example of how the public gets shafted when private equity buys a company and takes it private, loads it up with debt, unloads it to the general public again in an IPO while getting their money out, and then has a free shot at the public equity.  

 

Name: Jennings Michael
Position: CEO
Shares Bought: 7,500, Average Price Paid: $17.95, Cost: $134,625
Company: Holly Energy Partners Lp (HEP)
Holly Energy Partners, L.P. (“HEP”) is a Delaware limited partnership formed in early 2004 by HollyFrontier and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. HEP provides petroleum product and crude oil transportation, terminalling, storage, and throughput services to the petroleum industry, including HollyFrontier Corporation subsidiaries. The Partnership, through its subsidiaries and joint ventures, owns and operates petroleum product and crude gathering pipelines, tankage, and terminals in Texas, New Mexico, Washington, Idaho, Oklahoma, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, and Kansas, as well as refinery processing units in Kansas and Utah. It operates 1,330 miles of refined petroleum pipelines (340 miles leased), 960 miles of crude oil trunk lines, 10 refined product terminals, one jet fuel terminal, and two truck-loading facilities. It also has three 65-mile pipelines that ship feedstocks and crude oil. HollyFrontier holds a 41% stake in Holly Energy Partners.

Mr. Jennings has served as Chief Executive Officer of Holly Logistic Services, L.L.C. (“HLS”), the general partner of the general partner of Holly Energy Partners, L.P., since January 2020 and as the Chairman of the Board of HLS since November 2017. Mr. Jennings previously served as Chief Executive Officer of HLS from January 2014 to November 2016 and as President of HLS from October 2015 to February 2016. Mr. Jennings has served as Chief Executive Officer and President of HollyFrontier Corporation (“HFC”) since January 2020. Mr. Jennings served as Executive Vice President of HFC from November 2019 to January 2020, as Executive Chairman of HFC from January 2016 until January 2017, and as the Chief Executive Officer and President of HFC from the merger of Holly Corporation and Frontier Oil Corporation in July 2011 until January 2016.

Opinion:

 

Name: Sims Grant E
Position: CEO
Shares Bought: 10,000, Average Price Paid: $8.38, Cost: $83,761

Name: Flynn Edward T
Position: President
Shares Bought: 29,000, Average Price Paid: $8.34, Cost: $241,860

Name: Davison James E
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 26,896, Average Price Paid: $8.23, Cost: $221,423
Company: Genesis Energy Lp (GEL)
Genesis Energy, L.P. (NYSE: GEL) is a publicly traded diversified midstream energy master limited partnership in Houston, Texas. As a flexible and responsive supply and logistics company, Their custom solutions allow them to move products to market most efficiently and cost-effectively while maintaining their solid cultural focus on safety and reliability. Through their four divisions: offshore pipeline transportation, chemicals, onshore facilities, and transportation and marine transportation, They provide an integrated suite of services to integrated oil companies, large independent oil and gas or refinery companies, and large industrial and commercial enterprises. They are primarily located in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Wyoming, and Mexico. They remain steadfast in their mission to provide long-term value for their stakeholders without ever losing their strong commitment to operating in a safe, reliable, and responsible manner. At Genesis Energy, they focus on further integrating these considerations into their business strategy every day.

Grant E. Sims has served as a director and Chief Executive Officer of our general partner since August 2006 and Chairman of the Board of our general partner since October 2012. Mr. Sims was affiliated with Leviathan Gas Pipeline Partners, LP from 1992 to 1999, serving as the Chief Executive Officer and a director beginning in 1993 until he left to pursue personal interests, including investments. Leviathan (subsequently known as El Paso Energy Partners, L.P. and then GulfTerra Energy Partners, L.P.) was an NYSE listed master limited partnership. Mr. Sims has an established track record of developing strong companies and has led his companies through a period of substantial growth while increasing geographic and operational diversity. Mr. Sims provides leadership skills, executive management experience, and significant knowledge of our business environment, which he has gained through his vast experience with other MLPs.

Mr. Flynn has served as Executive Vice President of our General Partner and President of Genesis Alkali since Genesis acquired that business from Tronox Ltd. in September 2017. Before joining Genesis, Mr. Flynn worked for Tronox Corporation as EVP and President of Tronox Alkali since April 2015. He was with FMC Corporation for 33 years, serving most recently as President FMC Minerals. Mr. Flynn is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Natural Soda Ash Corporation (ANSAC) and previously served as a member of the Board of the Industrial Minerals Association of North America (IMA-NA).

James Ellis Davison serves as Director of the General Partner of the Company. Mr. James E. Davison has served as a director of our general partner since July 2007. Mr. Davison served as chairman of the board of Davison Transport, Inc. for over 30 years. He also serves as President of Terminal Services, Inc. Mr. Davison has over forty years of experience in the energy-related transportation and refinery services businesses. Mr. Davison brings to our board of directors significant energy-related transportation and refinery services experience and industry knowledge.

Opinion: Three different insiders bought stock last week.  You should know how I feel about oil and gas stocks.  The industry loved Trump but he was disastrous for stock prices. Biden is the bane of their existence but they have to like what he has done for stock prices.  Oil and gas plays are all about the underlying commodity price. You make oil and gas harder to produce without offering a substitute, you’re going to get higher prices. It’s that simple.

 

Name: Martin Ruben S
Position: Director 10% Owner
Shares Bought: 1,181,532, Average Price Paid: $2.90, Cost: $3,421,173
Company: Martin Midstream Partners L.P. (MMLP)
Martin Midstream Partners L.P., headquartered in Kilgore, Texas, is a publicly traded limited partnership with diverse operations focused primarily in the United States Gulf Coast region. The Partnership’s primary business lines include Terminalling, processing, storage, and packaging services for petroleum products and by-products. Land and marine transportation services for petroleum products and by-products, chemicals, and specialty products. Sulfur and sulfur-based products processing, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution. Natural gas liquids marketing, distribution, and transportation services. Martin Midstream was formed in 2002 by Martin Resource Management Corporation (“Martin Resource Management”), a privately-held company whose initial predecessor was incorporated in 1951 as a supplier of products and services to drilling rig contractors. Since then, Martin Resource Management has expanded its operations through acquisitions and internal expansion initiatives. Its management identified and capitalized on the needs of producers and purchasers of hydrocarbon products, by-products, and other bulk liquids.

Ruben S. Martin III has been appointed as Chairman of the Board of Martin Midstream GP LLC of the Company effective 12/31/2020. Mr. Martin has served in such capacities since June 2002. Mr. Martin has served as President of Martin Resource Management since 1981 and has served in various capacities within the company since 1974. Mr. Martin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial management from the University of Arkansas. Mr. Martin was selected to serve as a director on our general partner’s board of directors due to his depth of knowledge of the Partnership, including its strategies and operations, his business judgment, and his position within the Partnership.

Opinion:  MMLP was up 11% last week leading the pack of insider buys.

 

Name: Simmons Jeffrey N
Position: CEO
Shares Bought: 16,850, Average Price Paid: $29.70, Cost: $500,445
Company: Elanco Animal Health Inc. (ELAN)
Elanco Animal Health Incorporated is an animal health company that develops, manufactures, and markets products for companion and food animals. The Company can trace its roots back to the mid-1950s when Eli Lilly introduced their first antibiotic aimed at veterinary usage. The new plant and animal sciences research was combined into Lilly’s Agro-Industrial division. In the 1960s, the Agro-Industrial division was reorganized, launching the Elanco Products Company. The Company offers its products under four primary categories: Companion Animal Disease Prevention, Companion Animal Therapeutics, Food Animal Future Protein & Health, and Food Animal Ruminants & Swine. It provides a range of parasiticide portfolios in the companion animal sector based on indications, species, and formulations, with products that protect pets from worms, fleas, and ticks. It also offers a pain and osteoarthritis portfolio across species, modes of action, indications, and disease stages. It also provides treatments for otitis (ear infections), as well as cardiovascular and dermatology indications. Its Food Animal Future Protein & Health portfolio includes vaccines, nutritional enzymes, and animal-only antibiotics. It also provides products in poultry and aquaculture production.

Jeff Simmons serves as president and chief executive officer of Elanco Animal Health. As a global leader with a 65-year track record of growth, Elanco provides comprehensive products and knowledge services to improve animal health, welfare, and food animal production with 125 brands in 90 countries. Jeff is a purpose-driven leader with nearly 30 years of experience delivering business results, engaging employees, and developing the next generation of leaders. Jeff has directed the company’s transformation to a premier global player with a balanced and diversified business, having completed 12 acquisitions and built five new businesses, including a $1 billion companion animal business and a leading aquaculture business.

Opinion:  I tweeted about ELAN last week calling it a no-brainer bounce candidate. Follow us at twitter.com/theinsidersfund

 

Name: Owens B Craig
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 2,000, Average Price Paid: $105.62, Cost: $211,249
Company: Crown Holdings Inc. (CCK)
Crown Holdings, Inc. designs, manufactures and sells packaging products and equipment for consumer goods and industrial products in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. It offers products for consumer goods, including steel and aluminum cans for food, beverage, household, and other consumer products; glass bottles for beverage product; and metal vacuum closures and steel crowns through its sales organization to the soft drink, food, citrus, brewing, household products, personal care, and various other industries. The company also provides products for industrial products, such as steel and plastic strap consumables and equipment, paper-based protective packaging, and plastic film consumables and equipment to metals, food and beverage, construction, agricultural, corrugated, and general industries. In addition, it offers aerosol cans and ends; and promotional and specialty packaging containers with various lid and closure variations. Further, the company provides industrial film and other related products; transit protection products, such as airbags, edge protectors, and honeycombs; and equipment and tools, such as manual, semi-automatic, and automatic equipment and tools used in the end of line manufacturing applications to apply consumables. Crown Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Yardley, Pennsylvania.

B. Craig Owens serves as Independent Director of the Company. Mr. Owens is the former Chief Financial Officer of Campbell Soup Company, the world’s largest manufacturer of soup and vegetable juices, and Delhaize Group S.A./N.V., an international food retailer and operator of supermarkets, and has held management positions at The Coca-Cola Company, the world’s largest beverage company.

Opinion:  We are sitting this one out.  It’s a borderline buy at $200k

 

Name: Mcmorrow William J
Position: CEO
Shares Bought: 100,000, Average Price Paid: $21.10, Cost: $2,110,000
Company: Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc. (KW)
Kennedy Wilson (NYSE: KW) is a global real estate investment company. They own, operate, and invest in real estate on their own. Through their investment management platform—they focus on multifamily and office properties located in the Western U.S., U.K., and Ireland. Headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA, Kennedy Wilson has 12 global offices located throughout the U.S. and Europe. They use real-time information from their global platform and the long-term relationships developed with major institutions. They Focused on enhancing the value of their real estate through asset management, redevelopment, and repositioning. Kennedy Wilson pursues multifamily acquisition opportunities where they can unlock value through a myriad of strategies, including institutional management, asset rehabilitation, repositioning, and creative recapitalization. They focus primarily on apartments in supply-constrained, infill markets. They currently hold investments in more than 28,500 multifamily units, totaling 14M square feet, located in the Western U.S. (primarily Greater Seattle, San Francisco – Bay Area, and Greater Los Angeles) and Dublin, Ireland.

William McMorrow is chairman and CEO of Kennedy Wilson, which he acquired in 1988 and has subsequently grown into a leading global real estate investment platform. Kennedy Wilson began with just one office and 11 employees. Today, the company has offices in 15 different markets throughout the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Jersey, and Japan, with $16 billion of assets under management across the property spectrum. Mr. McMorrow has led the creation of three public companies: Kennedy-Wilson Holdings on the New York Stock Exchange, Kennedy Wilson Japan on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate Plc on the London Stock Exchange, whose $1.7 billion IPO represented the most extensive real estate vehicle listing since the economic downturn and the second most prominent real estate IPO in the 200-year history of the London Stock Exchange.

Opinion:  I don’t want to own any office-based REIT’s period.  I think all these major companies that are telling the world that they’ve  need in-person collaboration and their employees to come back to work will be telling their landlords a completely different tune when their office lease terms are up.

 

Name: Riley Bryant R
Position: CEO Chairman 10% Owner
Shares Bought: 15,000, Average Price Paid: $68.22, Cost: $1,023,262
Company: B. Riley Financial Inc. (RILY)
They are a leading, diversified financial services provider. They are a collection of experts with the in-house capabilities to serve any financial need at every stage of the business life cycle. Their team of seasoned experts takes a non-traditional, often contrarian approach to opportunities, where firm resources and cross-collaboration are well bestowed while always putting our clients first. What truly sets us apart from the competition is that, in addition to serving clients and investors, they actively utilize their balance sheet and have the operational prowess and foresight to recognize the value and maximize return on investments that others shy away from. B. Riley’s diverse suite of services goes beyond traditional financial service offerings. By leveraging cross-platform expertise and assets, they are uniquely positioned to provide full service, collaborative solutions to their clients at every stage of the business life cycle and in all market conditions. At B. Riley Financial, they believe that success is measured far beyond their stock price, a platform of businesses or services offered. Instead, it is the caliber of their people that truly makes a difference and drives impact for both the companies and the communities we serve.

Bryant R. Riley has served as Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of B. Riley Financial since June 2014 and July 2018, respectively, and as a director since August 2009. He also previously served as our Chief Executive Officer from June 2014 to July 2018. In addition, Riley served as the Chairman of B. Riley & Co., LLC since founding the stock brokerage firm in 1997 until its combination with FBR Capital Markets & Co., LLC in 2017; Chief Executive Officer of B. Riley & Co., LLC from 1997 to 2006; Chairman of B. Riley Principal Merger Corp. from April 2019 to February 2020, at which time it had completed its business combination with Alta Equipment Group, Inc.

Opinion:  Riley is a stud and keeps buying his company’s stock.  I would stay the course and buy on dips.  This firm looks like it’s going places.

 

Name: Goldstein Jeffrey A
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 2,222, Average Price Paid: $134.05, Cost: $297,868
Company: Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS)
FIS is an American Fortune 500 company that offers a wide range of financial products and services. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, FIS employs approximately 55,000 people worldwide. All of these employees permanently work from home, and FIS has shifted to the Work from Anywhere model since March 2020. After finalizing FIS’ most recent deal – as well as the industry’s largest-ever (by far) – to acquire Worldpay for $35 billion in Q3 of 2019, FIS became the largest processing and payments company in the world. FIS is most known for its development of Financial Technology, or FinTech. As of Q2 2020, it offers its solutions in three primary segments: Merchant Solutions, Banking Solutions, and Capital Market Solutions. Annually, FIS facilitates the movement of roughly $9 trillion through the processing of approximately 75 billion transactions in service to more than 20,000 clients around the globe. FIS is a leader in technology and services that help businesses and communities thrive by advancing commerce and the financial world. For over 50 years, FIS has continued to drive growth for clients worldwide by creating tomorrow’s technology, solutions, and services to modernize today’s businesses and customer experiences. By connecting merchants, banks, and capital markets, we use our scale, apply our deep expertise and data-driven insights, innovate with the purpose to solve for our client’s future, and deliver experiences that are more simple, seamless, and secure to advance the way the world pays, banks and invests.

Jeffrey Alan Goldstein serves as Independent Director of the Company. Mr. Goldstein is a Senior Advisor to Canapi Ventures, a venture capital firm, and Advisor Emeritus at Hellman & Friedman LLC, a private equity firm. He was the Chief Executive Officer of SpringHarbor Financial Group LLC from December 2016 through 2018. Mr. Goldstein was a Managing Director at Hellman & Friedman from 2004 to 2009 and from 2011 to 2016 and a Senior Advisor from 2016 to 2019. He was Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance and Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury from 2009 to 2011. From 1984 to 1999, Mr. Goldstein worked at James D. Wolfensohn Inc. and successor firms. When Wolfensohn & Co. was purchased by Bankers Trust in 1996, he served as co-chairman of BT Wolfensohn and as a member of Bankers Trust’s management committee.

Opinion:  We’ve followed Fiserv for a very long term and are buyers on this dip.  The regional bank industry runs on their technology and it’s a good evergreen business. Fiserv is not a big grower but a steady and profitable earner.  Be careful what you pay for it.  This latest pullback of nearly 10% makes it attractive to start accumulating a position.

 

Name: Warren Kelcy L
Position: Chairman
Shares Bought: 1,089,828, Average Price Paid: $9.17, Cost: $297,868
Company: Energy Transfer LP. (ET)
Energy Transfer is a Texas-based company that began in 1995 as a small intrastate natural gas pipeline operator and is now one of the largest and most diversified investment grade master limited partnerships in the United States—growing from roughly 200 miles of natural gas pipelines in 2002 to more than 86,000 miles of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), refined products, and crude oil pipelines. Today, there are three publicly traded partnerships in the Energy Transfer Family. (NYSE: ET) owns and operates one of the largest and most diversified portfolios of energy assets in the United States, with a strategic footprint in all major domestic production basins. ET is a publicly traded limited partnership with core operations that include complementary natural gas midstream, intrastate, and interstate transportation and storage assets; crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGL) and refined product transportation and terminalling assets; NGL fractionation; and various purchase and marketing assets. Et al. so owns Lake Charles LNG Company. (NYSE: SUN) is a master limited partnership that distributes motor fuel to approximately 10,000 convenience stores, independent dealers, commercial customers, and distributors in more than 30 states. SUN’s general partner is Energy Transfer Operating, LP, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE: ET). For more information, visit Sunoco LP.’s largest independent compression services providers in terms of total compression fleet horsepower. The Partnership partners with a broad customer base composed of producers, processors, gatherers, and natural gas and crude oil transporters. The Partnership focuses on providing compression services to infrastructure applications primarily in high-volume gathering systems, processing facilities, and transportation applications. More information is available at USA Compression.

Kelcy L. Warren is Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Energy Transfer LP and has been a leader in the energy industry for nearly 40 years. Warren co-founded Energy Transfer in 1996, which began as a small intrastate natural gas pipeline operator and is now one of the largest and most diversified publicly traded energy companies in the industry. Today, the Energy Transfer family of partnerships includes Energy Transfer, Sunoco LP, and USA Compression Partners.

Opinion: More oil and gas.  There is a message here. Lots of insiders are buying this sector.

 

Name: Crawford Gordon
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 75,000, Average Price Paid: $12.01, Cost: $901,026
Company: Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (LGF.B)
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is an American-Canadian entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and is currently headquartered in Santa Monica, California, United States. In addition to its flagship Lionsgate Films division, the company contains other divisions such as Lionsgate Television and Lionsgate Interactive. It owns a variety of subsidiaries such as Summit Entertainment, Debmar-Mercury, and Starz Inc. The company bought several small production facilities and distributors, starting with Montreal-based Cinépix Film Properties  Vancouver, British Columbia. Completing its first year of operation, Lionsgate had revenue of $42.2 million with a loss of $397,000. The company share price dropped to a low of $1.40. it limited the corporation’s ability to make acquisitions via stock swaps. Lionsgate instead made its subsequent acquisition of Termite Art Productions, a reality-based television production company, for $2.75 million by issuing three convertible promissory notes. Giustra had the shareholders vote to move the company’s public listing from the Toronto Stock Exchange to the American Stock Exchange, along with a two-for-one stock consolidation to qualify for greater exposure that might boost share value.

Since June 1971, Mr. Crawford has served in various positions at Capital Research and Management, a privately held investment management company. In December 2012, Mr. Crawford retired as its Senior Vice President. Currently, Mr. Crawford serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation. He is a Life Trustee on the Board of Trustees of Southern California Public Radio. Mr. Crawford formerly served as Vice Chairman at The Nature Conservancy, Vice Chairman of the Paley Center for Media, and was a member of the LA24 Olympic Bid Committee board. Mr. Crawford is Co-Chair of the Strategic Advisory Committee.

Opinion: I keep saying it’s a matter of time before someone buys out Lions Gate but it hasn’t happened.  I just don’t see any other reason for Crawford’s continued faith in this studio and film library.

Name: Kissam Luther
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 7,500, Average Price Paid: $35.14, Cost: $263,550
Company: Oge Energy Corp. (OGE)
OGE Energy Corp. is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol OGE. It is the parent company of Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OG&E), a regulated utility. It holds a 25.6 percent limited partner interest and a 50 percent general partner interest in Enable Midstream Partners, LP, headquartered in Oklahoma City.  Formed in 1902, OG&E is Oklahoma’s oldest and largest investor-owned electric utility. They serve more than 858,000 customers in 267 towns and cities in a 30,000 square mile area of Oklahoma and western Arkansas. Oklahoma City’s largest city has a metro area population of approximately 1.5 million people on its system. But they also serve towns like Enid, Ardmore, Muskogee, Norman, Durant, Ft. Smith, Arkansas, and many other smaller communities throughout their service territory. They have approximately 2,200 employees who live and work in the very towns they serve. Their power plants, located throughout Oklahoma, generate electricity using natural gas, coal, wind, and solar power. They are incredibly proud that they, as a company, have some of the lowest rates in the entire nation. And, because of their strong system reliability and high customer satisfaction, they are consistently ranked in surveys as one of the highest performing utilities in the nation. 

Luther (Luke) C. Kissam, IV, 56, is currently a Partner with Bernhard Capital Partners, a service and infrastructure-focused private equity firm. He is the former Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Albemarle Corporation, a global specialty chemicals company with leading lithium, bromine, and refining catalysts. He was named Chief Executive Officer in 2011 and held various leadership positions at Albemarle since 2003, including President and Executive Vice President of Manufacturing, Law, and HS&E. Before joining Albemarle, Mr. Kissam served as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Merisant Company, having previously served as Associate General Counsel of Monsanto Company. Mr. Kissam serves on the board of directors of DuPont de Nemours and Albemarle Corporation. Mr. Kissam has been a director of the Company and OG&E since September 2020 and is a member of the Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board.

Opinion:  Readers know that I love the electric utility industry. I have stated many times that I believe electricity usage is going through the roof for many years as global warming requires more air conditioning and the transition to EV from carbon-based transportation will cause massive growth in electricity usage.

 

Name: Watters John P
Position: COO
Shares Bought: 10,000, Average Price Paid: $17.82, Cost: $178,188

Name: Robbins William T
Position: EVP & CRO
Shares Bought: 26,000, Average Price Paid: $16.92, Cost: $439,868
Company: FireEye Inc. (FEYE)
Every day at FireEye, we see firsthand the impact of cyber-attacks on real people. It inspires us to fulfill our mission to relentlessly protect our customers from the impact and consequences of cyberattacks. They have learned that technology alone isn’t enough to combat cyber attackers. Their fundamental belief is that hands-on frontline expertise and intelligence, combined with innovative technology, provides the best means to protect their customers from cyber threats. FireEye has created a unique learning system. their real-time knowledge of the threat landscape ensures that their offerings provide the best means to protect their customers. Their frontline expertise constantly guides them as we build their products, deliver threat intelligence and arm their services team to prepare for, respond to and prevent breaches. The FireEye Innovation Cycle was created by product teams embracing their world-class frontline threat expertise AND their frontline experts embracing their solutions. They use this innovation cycle to create the most effective cyber defense platform – a seamless, on-demand extension of our customers’ security operations. 

John serves as FireEye President and Chief Operating Officer. He has served in various roles with the Company since the Company acquired iSIGHT Partners in 2016, including as a consultant from May 2020 to April 2021, as Chairman of the FireEye Advisory Board from April 2020 to April 2021, as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer from February 2018 to April 2020, as Executive Vice President, Global Services and Intelligence from January 2017 to January 2018, and as President of iSIGHT from March 2016 to January 2017. Before FireEye, John served as founder, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of iSIGHT Partners from November 2006 to February 2016.

William Todd Robbins serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Revenue Officer, General Manager – Products of the Company. He previously served as our Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales from November 2016 to February 2020. Before joining FireEye, Mr. Robbins was Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales of Nuance Communications, Inc. from December 2013 to November 2016. From January 2013 to December 2013, Mr. Robbins served as Chief Operating Officer of [24]7. From May 2005 to December 2012, Mr. Robbins held various positions at Symantec Corporation, most recently as Executive Vice President, Worldwide Sales & Services.

Opinion:  This is a trade until the market sees more history of the separation of the products and service business. Cyber security is a true growth industry but FireEye has struggled versus its peers.

Name: Rosenfeld Ronald A
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 20,000, Average Price Paid: $12.35, Cost: $247,000
Company: New York Community Bancorp Inc. (NYCB)
Based in Westbury, NY, New York Community Bancorp, Inc. is the parent of a New York State-chartered bank – New York Community Bank. On June 30, 2021, the Company had $57.5 billion, deposits of $34.2 billion, and stockholders’ equity of $6.9 billion. Their bank subsidiary features a divisional structure. New York Community Bank serves customers through 237 branches encompassing eight divisions: Queens County Savings Bank, Roslyn Savings Bank, Richmond County Savings Bank, Roosevelt Savings Bank, and Atlantic Bank in New York; Garden State Community Bank in New Jersey; Ohio Savings Bank in Ohio; and AmTrust Bank in Florida and Arizona. The Company was incorporated as Queens County Bancorp, Inc. on July 20, 1993, to serve as the holding Company for Queens County Savings Bank, which, on April 14, 1859, was the first savings bank chartered by the State of New York in the New York City borough of Queens. their conversion to stock form subsequently took place on November 23, 1993. On November 21, 2000, in anticipation of expanding beyond their then-current market, they changed their name to New York Community Bancorp, Inc. they have since grown through nine traditional mergers and two FDIC-assisted transactions; today, their branch network includes locations in New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Florida, and Arizona. New York Community Bancorp, Inc. is a leading producer of multi-family loans for portfolios in New York City, emphasizing non-luxury rent-regulated buildings that feature below-market rents. At the end of June, Their multi-family loan portfolio totaled $32.6 billion, representing 75% of total held-for-investment loans. They offer a wide range of financial products and services for individuals and businesses and operate their branches, emphasizing convenience with 24-hour ATM banking available at 232 locations and 192 branches open at least six days a week. Their customers also have 24-hour access to their accounts with online banking, mobile banking, and banking by phone.

Ronald A. Rosenfeld has been a member of the Board of Directors of New York Community Bancorp, Inc. and New York Community Bank since January 1, 2012. In addition, he serves on the Audit Committee, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and the Risk Assessment Committee of the Company and the Bank. Mr. Rosenfeld’s areas of expertise include housing and development, corporate finance, and investment banking.  Before joining the Treasury Department, he spent three years at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He successively served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Single-Family Housing, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multi-Family Housing, and General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing Federal Housing Commissioner.

Opinion:  Banking has been a strong sector. I’m inclined to buy the regional bank ETF KRE rather than individual companies unless there is a strong underlying thesis.

 

Name: Black Jeffrey G
Position: CFO
Shares Bought: 25,000, Average Price Paid: $8.75, Cost: $218,750
Company: Apollo Endosurgery Inc. (APEN)
Apollo Endosurgery, Inc. is a medical technology company focused on less invasive therapies to treat various gastrointestinal conditions, ranging from gastrointestinal defect repairs to the interventional treatment of obesity. Apollo’s device-based therapies are an alternative to invasive surgical procedures, thus lowering complication rates and reducing total healthcare costs. Apollo’s products are offered in over 75 countries today and include the X-Tack™ Endoscopic HeliX Tracking System, the OverStitch™ Endoscopic Suturing System, the OverStitch Sx™ Endoscopic Suturing System, and the ORBERA® Intragastric Balloon.

Jeffrey G. Black was named Chief Financial Officer in August 2021. Mr. Black has served in senior finance leadership roles for seven publicly traded companies, most recently as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Alphatec Holdings, Inc. (ticker: ATEC), a medical technology company. Previously, Mr. Black was Chief Financial Officer of Applied Proteomics, Inc., a non-invasive, proteomics-based diagnostics company, and as Chief Financial Officer of AltheaDx, Inc., a pharmacogenetics diagnostics company. Mr. Black is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) and is a member of the Board of Directors of Cellana, Inc., an algae bioproducts company. Mr. Black received his B.S. in Business from the University of Arizona.

Opinion: I’m staying away from this.  Small weight loss medical businesses can have lots of liabilities.

Name: Gersch Seth
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 7,200, Average Price Paid: $26.77, Cost: $192,712
Company: Global Indemnity Group LLC. (GBLI)
Global Indemnity Group provides specialty property and casualty coverage for a wide range of markets—from small businesses, manufactured homes, and vacant property to agriculture, professional lines, collectibles, and more. But for all their seeming diversity, these markets have one thing in common. All represent areas typically underserved by more traditional insurance and reinsurance companies: markets in which the member companies that comprise Global Indemnity successfully pursue the mutual goal of profitable growth.  Global Indemnity provides specialty property and casualty coverage for a wide range of markets—from small businesses, manufactured homes, and vacant property to agriculture, professional lines, collectibles, and more. But for all their seeming diversity, these markets have one thing in common. All represent areas typically underserved by more traditional insurance and reinsurance companies: markets in which the member companies that comprise Global Indemnity successfully pursue the mutual goal of profitable growth. Nothing embodies the idea of “Many paths. One direction.” more than the people of Global Indemnity. From their home office to the entire network of agents and producers in the U.S. and abroad, they are the sum of their skills, talents, and determination.

Mr. Seth J. Gersch is an Independent Director at Global Indemnity Group LLC, a Managing Member at Hindsight 20/20, and a Member at The Contemporary Jewish Museum. He is on the Board of Directors at Global Indemnity Group LLC, Cradle Holdings (Cayman) Ltd., Mr. Gersch was previously employed as an Independent Director by Global Indemnity Ltd., a Chief Operating Officer by Fox Paine & Co. LLC, a Chief Operating Officer by ThinkEquity Partners, a President & Chief Executive Officer by Presidio Capital Advisors LLC, a President-Broker Dealer Services Division by Banc of America Securities LLC, a Managing Director by Montgomery Securities, Inc., a Principal by Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc., an Independent Director by Global Indemnity Plc, and a Principal by Fahnestock & Co., Inc. He also served on the board at United America Indemnity Ltd., The San Francisco 49ers Foundation, Cradle Holdings, Inc. and Paradigm Ltd. (Cayman Islands)

Opinion:  Small insider buy. Put this on the watch list and see if more insiders are playing here.

 

Name: Zarcone Donna F
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 1,000, Average Price Paid: $210.74, Cost: $210,741
Company: Cigna Corp. (CI)
Cigna is an American multinational managed healthcare and insurance company based in Bloomfield, Connecticut.[2] Its insurance subsidiaries are major providers of medical, dental, disability, life and accident insurance, and related products and services, the majority of which are offered through employers and other groups (e.g., governmental and non-governmental organizations, unions, and associations). Cigna is incorporated in Connecticut. Cigna offers Medicare and Medicaid products and health, life, and accident insurance coverages primarily to individuals in the U.S. and selected international markets. In addition to its ongoing operations described above, Cigna also has certain run-off operations, including a Run-off Reinsurance segment. In the Phoenix metropolitan area, Cigna runs a full-service staff-model HMO (health maintenance organization) with satellite clinics throughout the region, known as the Cigna Medical Group. Cigna Global Health Benefits also operates under the Cigna Corporation. Cigna’s motto is ‘Together, all the way. The company ranked No. 13 in the 2020 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. On March 7, 2018, Cigna announced that it would acquire Express Scripts in a $67 billion deal. and on August 24, 2018, the shareholders of Cigna and Express Scripts approved the deal.

Donna F. Zarcone currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors and as a manager of CDW LLC, our wholly-owned subsidiary. Zarcone is the retired President and Chief Executive Officer of The Economic Club of Chicago, a civic and business leadership organization, a position she held from February 2012 to July 2020. She served as Interim President of The Economic Club of Chicago from October 2011 to February 2012. From January 2007 to February 2012, she served as the President, CEO, and founder of D.F. Zarcone & Associates LLC, a strategy advisory firm. Prior to founding D.F. Zarcone & Associates, Zarcone was President and Chief Operating Officer of Harley-Davidson Financial Services, Inc.

Opinion:  Cigna reported Q2 numbers and dragged down the group, including Anthem. They claimed rising Covid costs were the villain. That’s plausible and it’s also not likely to be repeated. Several analysts lowered price targets but keep buys on their ratings.  Cigna stock has done nothing in a year and this looks like a good time to start a position. It doesn’t seem that the existential threat of Medicare for all is likely to happen.

 

Name: Caswell Bruce
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 4,500, Average Price Paid: $81.53, Cost: $366,870
Company: Maximus Inc. (MMS)
Maximus Inc. is an American government services company with global operations in countries including the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The company contracts with government agencies to provide services to manage and administer government-sponsored programs. Maximus provides administration and other services for Medicaid, Medicare, health care reform, and welfare-to-work, among other government programs. The company is based in Reston, Virginia, has 34,300 employees, and reported annual revenue of $3.46 billion in 2020.[ For more than 40 years, Maximus has partnered with state, federal, and local governments to provide communities with critical health and human service programs. They leverage their extensive experience to develop high-quality services and solutions that are cost-effective and tailored to each communities’ unique needs. They offer governments the ability to implement programs rapidly with scalable operations and automated systems. From Medicaid and Medicare to welfare-to-work and program modernization, their comprehensive solutions help governments run effectively and efficiently to achieve their goals. With offices in nine countries, they have built a significant capacity to deliver measurable results on an international scale. They take great pride in their work, which is why they are the best at what they do.

Bruce Caswell assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer and Director on April 1, 2018, and has served as President since October 2014. Mr. Caswell has held several senior leadership roles overseeing all segments of the Company’s business since joining Maximus in 2004. Mr. Caswell’s vision and operational leadership facilitated the growth of the Health Services Segment by more than 300 percent over the last ten years. The segment provides administrative services, program management, and operational support for programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and public health programs across Canada and the United Kingdom. Mr. Caswell brings more than 25 years of public sector health and human services experience, which includes extensive experience in management consulting, systems integration, and operations related to delivering complex solutions to federal, state, and provincial government clients. 

Opinion: More about this one later. Just ran out of brain cells this weekend.

 

Name: Field David J
Position: CEO Chairman
Shares Bought: 125,000, Average Price Paid: $3.06, Cost: $382,513
Company: Audacy Inc. (AUD)
Audacy, Inc. is a publicly-traded American multi-platform audio content and entertainment organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968, it is the second-largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media markets. The other one being iHeartRadio. In November 2017, Audacy (at the time Entercom) merged with CBS Radio. The transaction was structured as an exchange offer whereby owners of CBS Corporation common shares (i.e., not the multiple-voting shares held by National Amusements) at the time of the merger could elect to exchange their shares for Entercom shares corresponding to a 72% stake in the combined company. It is not clear how many CBS shareholders retained these Audacy shares, and the present-day ViacomCBS has never held any ownership in the company. One purpose, many shared ambitions. Their purpose unites them to bring people together around what moves them – for both their audiences and their diverse, talented workforce that reflects their world’s evolving communities. Their values guide how they work together to fulfill their commitment. As a media company, it’s their privilege and their responsibility to unite their listeners, brands, and communities with programs that educate, serve and empower.

David Field is the Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer at Audacy, the #1 creator of original, premium audio content representing an audio universe of discovery and connection. Home to the industry’s most influential collection of broadcast and digital content, podcasts, and premium live experiences, Audacy engages over 170 million consumers each month. Field has served as Audacy’s (then Entercom) CEO since 2002 and its President since 1998. Under his leadership, the company has grown from 15 stations with $35 million in revenues to over 230 stations with $1.6 billion in revenues. Before becoming Audacy’s President, Field held several roles within the company, including the Chief Operating Officer and the Chief Financial Officer. Before joining the company, Field was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs & Co. in New York.

Opinion:

More about this one later. Just ran out of brain cells this weekend.

 

 

Name: Carillo Brooke
Position: CFO
Shares Bought: 20,500, Average Price Paid: $12.20, Cost: $250,100
Company: Redwood Trust Inc. (RWT)
Redwood Trust, Inc. is a specialty finance company focused on several distinct areas of housing credit. Our operating platforms occupy a unique position in the housing finance value chain, providing liquidity to growing segments of the U.S. housing market not served by government programs. The Company delivers customized housing credit investments to a diverse mix of investors through our best-in-class securitization platforms, whole-loan distribution activities, and its publicly traded shares. Its consolidated investment portfolio has evolved to incorporate a diverse mix of residential, business purpose, and multifamily investments. Redwood Trust aims to provide attractive returns to shareholders through a stable and growing stream of earnings and dividends, capital appreciation, and a commitment to technological innovation that facilitates a risk-minded scale. Since going public in 1994, Redwood Trust has managed its business through several cycles, built a track record of innovation, and has a best-in-class reputation for service and a common-sense approach to credit investing. Redwood Trust is internally managed and structured as a real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) for tax purposes.

Brooke E. Carillo serves as Chief Financial Officer of Redwood Trust, Inc. Before joining Redwood in May 2021, Ms. Carillo was employed at Annaly Capital Management, Inc., most recently serving as the Head of Corporate Development and Strategy. In that role, Ms. Carillo led the corporate strategy, capital markets, and investor relations departments and served on the firm’s Operating Committee. Before joining Annaly in 2010, Ms. Carillo worked in investment banking within the Financial Institutions Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Opinion:

More about this one later. Just ran out of brain cells this weekend.

 

 

 

Name: Pietzke Steffen
Position: CFO
Shares Bought: 20,000, Average Price Paid: $14.75, Cost: $295,000
Company: Enovix Corp. (ENVX)
Industries of the future—Artificial Intelligence, Edge computing, 5G, Electric Vehicles, Augmented Reality, and Virtual Reality—all require greater battery energy capacity. Building and scaling a 100% active silicon anode has long been a goal of the battery industry because it dramatically increases capacity and performance. Enovix, based in Fremont, California, is the first company in the world to be capable of volume production of advanced Lithium-ion batteries with a 100% active silicon anode using its 3D cell architecture. The company has designed, developed, and sampled advanced Lithium-ion batteries with energy densities five years ahead of current industrial production. Enovix’s initial goal is to provide designers of category-leading mobile devices with a high-energy battery so they can create more innovative and effective portable products. Enovix is also developing its 3D cell technology and production process for the EV and energy storage markets to help the widespread use of renewable energy.

Steffen Pietzke has been the chief financial officer since joining Enovix in April 2021. He is responsible for leading all financial operations and planning. Steffen has more than 20 years of experience guiding public and private technology, life science, and transportation companies across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Before joining Enovix, Steffen was vice president, finance, and chief accounting officer at ALX Oncology Holdings, Inc., where he managed all facets of corporate accounting and finance. Before ALX Oncology, Steffen was senior vice president, finance, and chief accounting officer at Tricida, Inc. Among his accomplishments, Pietzke has successfully managed finance organizations during two initial public offerings — ALX Oncology’s $186 million IPO in 2020 and Tricida’s $256 million IPO in 2018.

Opinion:  New CFO, perfunctory buy? Not sure but I’m not touching it.  If someone hired me to be the CFO at $500k per year, I’d probably buy $225k at the lowest point in some time.  Maybe it works but you can’t read too much into this.

 

 

Name: Van Oss Stephen A
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 20,000, Average Price Paid: $23.92, Cost: $478,452
Company: Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. (CPS)
Cooper-Standard is a leading materials science and manufacturing expert headquartered in Northville, Mich. USA. They operate in 21 countries and with a global team of 25,000 employees. They develop materials, systems, and components for a wide range of diverse markets. Innovation from materials science to final products – they reinvent boundaries to deliver sustained value for all their stakeholders and the global industries they serve. At Cooper Standard, they have an unwavering commitment to their strategic vision for driving value through culture, innovation, and results. They know what they do well, and they focus intently on doing it better than anyone else. They have created a precise blueprint for product development, design, and manufacturing. They have standardized practices across the organization to ensure safety, quality, reliability, and sustained excellence – year after year – in every business area. A firm commitment to the process and healthy competition means they never veer from advancing their top priorities: a relentless focus on the voice of the customer; superior products and innovation; a highly engaged workforce; and world-class global operations.

Stephen A. Van Oss has been a director of the Company since August 2008. Mr. Van Oss currently serves as an Operating Partner, Distribution for Gamut Capital Management, a New York-based private equity firm. From 2009 until his retirement in December 2015, Mr. Van Oss served as senior vice president, chief operating officer, and director of WESCO International, Inc., a supply chain solutions company. Before this, he served as WESCO’s director of information technology from 1997 to 2000 and as its director of acquisition management in 1997. Mr. Van Oss serves on the board of directors of JPW Industries as the chairman and is a member of the audit and compensation committees.

Opinion:

CPS has mostly been supplying the automotive industry but seems to be diversifying into multiple different industries.  This is the first insider buy of size in some time.  Cooper’s business has clearly been in stress.

 

Name: Krimbill H Michael
Position: CEO
Shares Bought: 150,000, Average Price Paid: $1.55, Cost: $231,900
Company: NGL Energy Partners LP. (NGL)
NGL Energy Partners LP engages in the crude oil and liquids logistics and water solution businesses. The company’s Crude Oil Logistics segment purchases crude oil from producers and marketers and transports it to refineries for resale at pipeline injection stations, storage terminals, barge loading facilities, rail facilities, refineries, and other trade hubs; and provides storage, terminaling, and pipeline transportation services. Its Water Solutions segment transports, treats, recycles and disposes of, produced, and flowed back water generated from oil and natural gas production; disposes solids, such as tank bottoms and drilling fluid and muds, as well as performs truck and frac tank washouts; and sells produced water for reuse and brackish non-potable water. The company’s Liquids Logistics segment supplies natural gas liquids, refined petroleum products, and biodiesel to commercial, retail, and industrial customers in the United States and Canada through its 28 terminals, third-party storage and terminal facilities, and standard carrier pipelines, as well as through a fleet of leased railcars. This segment is also involved in the marine export of butane through its facility in Chesapeake, Virginia, and offers terminaling and storage services. NGL Energy Holdings LLC serves as the general partner of the company. The company was founded in 1940 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Mr. Krimbill is our Chief Executive Officer and also serves as a member of the Board of Directors. He has over 20 years of experience in executive roles in the propane industry. He was the past President and Chief Financial Officer of Energy Transfer Partners LP from 2004 through 2007. He was a former Director of Energy Transfer Equity, the General Partner of Energy Transfer Partners. At Heritage Propane Partners, the predecessor of Energy Transfer Partners, Mr. Krimbill, filled various roles from 1990 through 2004, including Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Krimbill served as a member of Williams’ Partners LP board from 2007 – 2012, where he was a member of the Audit Committee and the Chairman of the Conflicts Committee. He also served on the board of Pacific Commerce Bank from 2011-2015.

Opinion:

More about this one later. Just ran out of brain cells this weekend.

 

Name: Fisher Itzhak
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 100,000, Average Price Paid: $3.20, Cost: $320,000

Name: Gotlieb Irwin
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 100,000, Average Price Paid: $3.19, Cost: $319,000
Company: Comscore Inc. (SCOR)
Comscore is an American media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Comscore is a trusted partner for planning, transacting, and evaluating media across platforms. They are a powerful third-party source for reliable cross-platform audiences with transformative data science and vast audience insights across digital, linear TV, over-the-top (OTT), and theatrical viewership. Comscore plays an integral role in the media ecosystem. Their partners include the most prominent television networks, digital media properties, brands, agencies, and film studios worldwide. More than 1,700 people worldwide comprise Comscore’s team of data scientists, product engineers, customer success partners, and more. Their core values of Integrity, Velocity, Accountability, Teamwork and Servant Leadership permeate everything they do.

Mr. Fisher has spent three decades creating, operating, and investing over $3B in digital, media, and retail companies, focusing on data and analytics. He has built successful management teams and created significant value in these companies through operational excellence, organic growth, joint ventures, and acquisitions. Previously, he served in senior product and business development roles at Nielsen. As president and CEO of RSL Communications, he built a telecommunications company that operated in over 20 countries and generated more than $1.5 billion in revenues.

Mr. Gotlieb brings over 40 years of industry experience to Comscore’s board. In addition, he is the first media agency executive inducted into both the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame and the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame.  Most recently, Mr. Gotlieb has been a senior advisor to WPP and was formerly the global chief executive officer and chairman of GroupM, the leading international media investment group representing the consolidated media capabilities of WPP.

Opinion:

More about this one later. Just ran out of brain cells this weekend.

 

Name: Sanfilippo Anthony Michael
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 160,000, Average Price Paid: $21.77, Cost: $320,000
Company: Tivity Health Inc. (TVTY)
Tivity Health, formerly Healthways, provides health improvement, fitness, and social engagement solutions. Tivity Health is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, with offices in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, and Chandler, Arizona. The company was founded in 1981 as American Healthways and rebranded to Tivity Health in 2017. Tivity Health acquired Nutrisystem Inc. (including the South Beach Diet brand) in March of 2019 and agreed to sell the nutrition business to Kainos Capital in October 2020. As of 2020, Tivity is known as one of the leading advertisers on the conservative cable television channel Fox News. Tivity Health, Inc. provides fitness and health products primarily for seniors and older adults in the United States. The company offers SilverSneakers to members of Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, and group retiree plans; Prime Fitness, a fitness facility access program through commercial health plans, employers, and other sponsoring organizations; virtual fitness experiences, including live instructor-led classes; and WholeHealth living program, a continuum of services related to complementary, alternative, and physical medicine. It also provides Wisely Well brand meals designed to support individuals and caregivers seeking meal convenience and those recovering after hospitalization or living with chronic conditions.

Anthony Michael Sanfilippo is the Independent Director of the company. Mr. Sanfilippo most recently served as a member of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. from March 2010 until its October 2018 sale to Penn National Gaming. Mr. Sanfilippo brings to the Board significant senior executive and operating expertise from his experience in the gaming and hospitality industries. According to the Governance Agreement, Mr. Sanfilippo was initially appointed to the Board and has been selected as a director nominee. See “Corporate Governance — Contractual Rights of Starboard to Designate Nominees” above.

Opinion:

More about this one later. Just ran out of brain cells this weekend.

 

Name: Imasogie Osagie O
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 39,825, Average Price Paid: $22.74, Cost: $905,457
Company: FS KKR Capital Corp. (FSK)
FS KKR Capital Corp. is a business development company specializing in investments in debt securities. It seeks to purchase interests in loans through secondary market transactions or directly from the target companies as direct market investments. It also seeks to invest in first lien senior secured loans, the second lien secured loans, and, to a lesser extent, subordinated loans or mezzanine loans. The firm also receives equity interests such as warrants or options as an additional consideration in connection with the debt investments. It also seeks to purchase minority interests in the form of common or preferred equity in our target companies, either in conjunction with debt investments or through a co-investment with a financial sponsor. Additionally, the fund may invest in corporate bonds and similar debt securities on an opportunistic basis. The fund does not seek to invest in start-up companies, turnaround situations, or companies with speculative business plans. It seeks to invest in small and middle-market companies based in the United States. The fund seeks to invest in firms with annual revenue between $10 million to $2.5 billion. It seeks to exit from securities by selling them in a privately negotiated over-the-counter market. For any investments that cannot be sold within the secondary market, the firm seeks to exit such investments through repayment, an initial public offering of equity securities, merger, sale, or recapitalization.

Osagie Imasogie has over 30 years of experience in law, finance, business management, health care, and the pharmaceutical industry. He is a co-founder, and the Senior Managing Partner of PIPV Capital and a private equity firm focused on the Life Sciences vertical. Before co-founding PIPV Capital, Mr. Imasogie conceptualized and established GlaxoSmithKline Ventures and was its founding Vice President. Mr. Imasogie has held senior commercial and R&D positions within pharmaceutical companies such as GSK, SmithKline, DuPont Merck, and Endo, the founding General Counsel and SVP for Corporate Development. Mr. Imasogie has also been a Price Waterhouse Corporate Finance Partner and a practicing attorney with a leading U.S. law firm.

Opinion:

More about this one later. Just ran out of brain cells this weekend.

 

Name: Hinrichs James F
Position: Director
Shares Bought: 10,000, Average Price Paid: $36.66, Cost: $366,600
Company: Outset Medical Inc. (OM)
Outset is a medical technology company pioneering a first-of-its-kind technology to reduce the cost and complexity of dialysis. The Tablo Hemodialysis System, FDA cleared for use from the hospital to the home, represents a significant technological advancement that transforms the dialysis experience for patients and operationally simplifies it for providers. Tablo serves as a single enterprise solution that can be utilized across the continuum of care, allowing dialysis to be delivered anytime, anywhere, and by anyone. The integration of water purification and on-demand dialysate production enables Tablo to serve as a dialysis clinic on wheels, with 2-way wireless data transmission and a proprietary data analytics platform powering a new holistic approach to dialysis care.

Jim has 30 years of financial leadership experience in large and small organizations within the healthcare industry. He currently serves as a Director of Orthofix Inc. (OFIX), Integer Holdings (ITGR), Acutus Medical, and Signifier Medical. Prior to these board roles, Jim served as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of multiple companies: From 2018-2019, he was CFO of Cibus, a startup gene-editing company focused on the agriculture markets; From 2015 to 2017, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Alere Inc, a publicly-traded diagnostic company, until its sale to Abbott Labs for approximately $8 billion; From 2010 to 2015, he was CFO of CareFusion Corporation, a publicly-traded medical technology company, until its sale to Becton Dickinson for approximately $12 billion.

Opinion:  This is a slick device and I can see Becton Dickensen buying the company as they have already bought $20 billion of companies from James Hinrich companies worked with.  I don’t know the size of this market. The unexpected and surprising departure of the CFO for greener pastures raises serious questions bout the company.  Let’s watch this one closely.  I’d put some small amount of money to work now.

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Insiders sell the stock for many reasons, but they generally buy for just one – to make money. You’ve always heard the best information is inside information.  Everyone who has any experience at all in the stock market pays close attention to what insiders are doing.  After all, who knows a business better than the people running it?  Officers, directors, and 10% owners are required to inform the public through a Form 4 Filing any transaction, buy, sell, exercise, or any other with 48 hours of doing so. This info is available for free from the SEC’s Web site, Edgar, although we subscribe to SECForm4  as they provide a way to manage and make sense of the vast realms of data. I’ve tried many vendors, and SECForm4 is one of the most customer-friendly and responsive I’ve used.

We publish a subscription newsletter called The Insiders Report.  We offer a free 30-day trial, so you have nothing to lose by trying it out. Be sure to carefully read the TERMS OF SERVICE.

Another source for insider buying and selling and much more is FinViz Elite. FinViz stands for financial visualization, and they do an amazing job of providing reams of data and the tools to help you get to the bottom of it, the information that helps me make informed decisions and probable outcomes. I’ve been using their site for years, and it only gets better over time.

This is as close to “insider information” that an ordinary investor is likely to see- and it’s entirely legal. 

BEWARE– Following insiders can be hazardous to your financial health unless you know what you are doing.  Unlike the raw, unfiltered data, The Insiders Fund blog informs you of the purchases that count, the ones that are just window dressing into deceiving the public that all is hunky-dory, and those that are just flat out other people’s money and should be just discarded like bad fish. As a rule, we only look at material amounts of money, $200 thousand or more, as anything less could just be window dressing.

The bar is different from 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 and options. 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 is large planned sale programs that start without warning. Unfortunately, the public information disclosure requirements about these programs referred to as Rule 10b5-1 are horrendously poor. Also, planned sales that just pop up out of nowhere are basically sales and are seeking cover under the Sarbanes Oxley corporate welfare clause. I also generally ignore 10 percent shareholders as they tend to be OPM (other people’s money) and perhaps not the smart money we are trying to read the tea leaves on.

Of course, insiders can also be wrong about their Company’s prospects. Don’t let anyone fool you into believing they never make mistakes.  No one tracks and understands insider behavior better than us. We’ve been doing it religiously since 2001, when I quit being an insider myself and devoted myself full time to managing my personal investments. They can easily be wrong about how much others will value them, and in many cases, maybe most cases have no more idea what the future may hold than you or me. In short, you can lose money following them.  We have, and we curse aloud, what were they thinking!  Needless to say, past good fortune is no guarantee of future success.  We may own positions, long or short, in any of these names and are under no obligation to disclose that. We welcome your comments on our analysis.

This blog is solely for educational purposes and the author’s own amusement.  Investing with The Insiders Fund is for qualified investors and by Prospectus only. Nothing herein should be construed otherwise.  THE INSIDERS FUND invests in companies at or near prices that management has been willing to invest significant amounts of their own money in.  If you would like to hear more about how you can get involved with the Insiders Fund, please schedule some time on my calendar. 

Prosperous Trading,

Harvey Sax

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