Insider Buying week 12-17-21

Curious how well insiders are doing with their buys? Click on this link or image above to scroll the significant buys of the last year.

Microsoft dipped 0.3% Friday, bringing its weekly decline to nearly 5.5%. Alphabet and Apple fell more than 4%. A handful of tech stocks have been propelling the major averages all year and it’s only natural to see some profit-taking.  I tried to borrow some ARKK stock but there was none available to short. Betting against Infinite multiples has been the most reliable trade of the last month. There was somewhat of a short squeeze on Friday in the ARKK names. On the other hand, utility stocks that have been stellar performers sold off.  What was up was down and what was down was up.  What happens one day is likely to get reversed the next day in this most difficult and unpredictable of markets. What doesn’t change is that insiders buy their stock when they think it’s cheap.

But even insiders after years of seeing their stock go up on the flimsiest of financial results can lose touch. What creates value is not really a stock price but rather it’s the ability of a business to reward owners with its excess cash flow.   All reports should be viewed as a continual work in progress, more like a notebook than a newsletter. Check back frequently for updates from Cabo San Lucas this week.

Name: Lores Enrique
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2021-12-03 Shares Bought: 2,770 Average Price Paid: $180.08 Cost: $498,822
Company: PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL)
PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods such as checks and money orders. The company operates as a payment processor for online vendors, auction sites, and many other commercial users, for which it charges a fee. The Company’s combined payment solutions, including its PayPal, PayPal Credit, Braintree, Venmo, Xoom, iZettle, and Hyperwallet products and services, comprise its Payments Platform. It operates a two-sided network that links its customers around the globe to facilitate the processing of payment transactions, allowing it to connect merchants and consumers. The Company allows its customers to use their account for both purchases and paying for goods, as well as to transfer and withdraw funds. It enables consumers to exchange funds with merchants using funding sources, which include bank account, PayPal account balance, PayPal Credit account, credit and debit card, or other stored value products. The Company also offers consumers person-to-person (P2P) payment solutions through its PayPal Website and mobile application, Venmo, and Xoom.

Enrique Lores has served as a director of PayPal since June 2021. Since November 2019, he has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of HP Inc., and as a director on the company’s Board of Directors. In his over 30-year career with HP, Mr. Lores has held numerous senior leadership positions, including President of HP’s Imaging, Printing and Solutions business, Senior Vice President and General Manager of HP’s Commercial PC business, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Customer Support and Services, and Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Solutions. He was a key architect of the separation of Hewlett-Packard Company in 2015, leading HP’s separation management office. Mr. Lores serves on the Board of Directors of Silicon Valley Leadership Group and ESADE Business School. Mr. Lores received his B.S. in electrical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and his M.B.A. from ESADE Business School.

Opinion: Paypal has been the poster boy for fintech for the last few years but the crown is in doubt now as Defi and cryptocurrency threaten to disrupt the disrupter. Paypal has so many exciting opportunities that it has to be a core holding for the financial sector. No one can really justify the multiple of PayPal even after its’ recent shellacking. You may pay too much for its share price but growth should bail you out eventually. We would nibble at this one but are not surprised if we see lower prices in the near term.

Name: Springer Daniel D
Position: CEO
Transaction Date: 2021-12-07 Shares Bought: 33,675 Average Price Paid: $143.95 Cost: $4,847,368
Company: Docusign Inc. (DOCU)
DocuSign, Inc. provides cloud-based software in the United States and internationally. The company provides an e-signature solution that enables businesses to digitally prepare, sign, act on, and manage agreements. It also offers CLM, which automates workflows across the entire agreement process; Insights that use artificial intelligence (AI) to search and analyze agreements by legal concepts and clauses; Gen for Salesforce, which allows sales representatives to automatically generate agreements with a few clicks from within Salesforce; Negotiate for Salesforce that supports for approvals, document comparisons, and version control; Analyzer, which helps customers understand what they’re signing before they sign it; and CLM+ that provide AI-driven contract lifecycle management. The company provides Guided Forms, which enable complex forms to be filled via an interactive and step-by-step process; Click that supports no-signature-required agreements for standard terms and consents; Identify, a signer-identification option for checking government-issued IDs; Standards-Based Signatures, which support signatures that involve digital certificates; Payments that enables customers to collect signatures and payment; and eNotary, which offers the ability to execute electronic notarial acts. It offers industry-specific cloud offerings, including Rooms for Real Estate that provides a way for brokers and agents to manage the entire real estate transaction digitally; Rooms for Mortgage, which offers digital workspace to create and close mortgages; FedRAMP, an authorized version of DocuSign eSignature for U.S. federal government agencies; and life sciences modules that support compliance with the electronic signature practices. The company sells its products through direct, partner-assisted, and Web-based sales. It serves enterprises, commercial, and small businesses. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Daniel D. Springer serves as President, Chief Executive Officer, Director of the Company. He has served as our Chief Executive Officer, President, and member of the Board since January 2017. From May 2015 to January 2017, he served as an Operating Partner at Advent International Corp., a private equity investment firm. From March 2004 to March 2014, Mr. Springer served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Responsys, Inc. (NASDAQ: MKTG), a marketing software company that was acquired by Oracle Corp. in 2014. Prior to joining Responsys, Inc., Mr. Springer served as the Managing Director of Modem Media, Inc., a marketing strategy and services firm, the Chief Executive Officer of Telleo, Inc.

Opinion: Much of what I said about PayPal is really the same for DocuSign. Many of Wall Street darlings are now getting taken to the woodshed.  In the case of DocuSign, cheerleading analysts fell over themselves downgrading the Company on its recent quarterly guidance. DocuSign created a new category and it’s now, like Zoom, Google its name itself is  part of the vernacular. Unlike Zoom, I think Docusign’s hold on its category is firm.  DocuSign has a library of content that businesses have invested in and need to preserve.  Zoom is yesterday’s meetings and can be replaced by tomorrow’s new meeting from Google Workspace or Microsoft team’s. We are a buyer of DocuSign on dips and a seller of Zoom on pops.

 

Name: Doyle J Patrick
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2021-12-03  Shares Bought: 20,000 Average Price Paid: $104.47 Cost: $2,089,400
Company: Best Buy Co Inc. (BBY)
Best Buy Co., Inc. retails technology products in the United States and Canada. The company operates in two segments, Domestic and International. Its stores provide computing and mobile phones, such as computing covering desktops, notebooks, and peripherals; mobile phones comprising related mobile network carrier commissions, networking products, tablets covering e-readers, and wearables, such as smartwatches; and consumer electronics consisting of digital imaging, health and fitness, home theater, portable audio comprising headphones and portable speakers, and smart home products. The company’s stores also offer appliances, such as dishwashers, laundry appliances, ovens, refrigerators, blenders, coffee makers, and vacuums; entertainment products consisting of drones, peripherals, movies, music, and toys, as well as gaming hardware and software, and virtual reality and other software products; and other products, such as beverages, snacks, and sundry items, as well as baby products, furniture, luggage, and sporting goods. In addition, it provides consultation, delivery, design, installation, memberships, protection plans, repair, set-up, and technical support services, as well as connected health services for aging consumers. The company offers its products through .stores and websites under the BestBuy, Best Buy Business, Best Buy Express, Best Buy Health, CST, Geek Squad, GreatCall, Lively, Magnolia, Pacific Kitchen, and Home, as well as the domain names bestbuy.com and greatcall.com. As of January 30, 2021, it had 1,126 large-format and 33 small-format stores. The company was formerly known as Sound of Music, Inc. Best Buy Co., Inc. was incorporated in 1966 and is headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota.

Joseph Patrick Doyle is an Independent Director of Best Buy Co. Mr. Doyle has served as Chief Executive Officer of Domino’s Pizza, Inc., the second-largest pizza company in the world, since 2010. Prior to that, he held a variety of other senior leadership roles at Domino’s. Under Mr. Doyle’s leadership, Domino’s has significantly enhanced its multichannel presence, with digital channels now accounting for 60 percent of U.S. orders. That expertise supports Best Buy’s goal of increasing its online market share. Having led remarkable growth and transformation at Domino’s, Mr. Doyle’s experience and insights are valuable to the Board and senior management as Best Buy undertakes a similar effort. Under Mr. Doyle, Domino’s rebuilt its reputation among consumers and nearly doubled its global retail sales from $5.5 billion in 2008 to $10.9 billion in 2016.

Opinion: Best Buy is a value stock and it will probably work at this price but will not wind up going a lot. If you’re content with an 8-12% return, Best Buy will likely punch your ticket without a lot of risks.

Name: Natarajan Prabu
Position: CFO
Transaction Date: 2021-12-10  Shares Bought: 3,000 Average Price Paid: $82.35 Cost: $247,060
Company: Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC)
Science Applications International Corporation provides technical, engineering, and enterprise information technology (IT) services primarily in the United States. The company’s offerings include engineering; technology integration; IT modernization; maintenance of ground and maritime systems; logistics; training and simulation; operation and program support services; and end-to-end services, such as design, development, integration, deployment, management and operations, sustainment, and security of its customers’ IT infrastructure, as well as cloud migration, managed services, infrastructure modernization, and enterprise IT-as-a-service solutions. It serves the U.S. military comprising Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard; Department of Defense agencies; National Aeronautics and Space Administration; the U.S. Department of State; Department of Justice; Department of Homeland Security; and various intelligence community agencies, as well as U.S. federal civilian agencies. The company was formerly known as SAIC Gemini, Inc. and changed its name to Science Applications International Corporation in September 2013. Science Applications International Corporation was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.

Prabu Natarajan is executive vice president and chief financial officer of SAIC. Natarajan oversees all financial activities of the company, including accounting and financial reporting, treasury, tax, planning and analysis, and investor relations. Prior to joining SAIC in January 2020, Natarajan was vice president of financial planning and merger and acquisition for Northrop Grumman and a member of the company’s Chief Financial Officer Council. In this role, he was responsible for the development of the company’s long term strategic plan and the Annual Operating Plan, the company’s pension and real estate and facilities portfolio, and a range of capital allocation matters including peer benchmarking, financial performance metrics, and incentive compensation, while also managing the company’s M&A process.

Opinion: The last time Prabu bought shares was back in May and he purchased 3000 shares for $84.31. . Some companies require that their officers own a percentage of their salary in stock. I bet this is one of them

Name: Wilder C John
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2021-12-10  Shares Bought: 20,612 Average Price Paid: $67.33 Cost: $1,387,759

Name: Wilder C John
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2021-12-15  Shares Bought: 19,810 Average Price Paid: $67.78 Cost: $1,387,759

Company: Evergy Inc. (EVRG)
Evergy is an American investor-owned utility (IOU) with publicly traded stock headquarters in Topeka, Kansas, and in Kansas City, Missouri. The company was formed from a merger of Westar Energy of Topeka and Great Plains Energy of Kansas City, Missouri, the parent company of Kansas City Power & Light. Evergy is the largest electric company in Kansas, serving more than 1.6 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the state’s eastern half. Evergy has a generating capacity of 16,000-megawatt electricity from its over 40 power plants in Kansas and Missouri. Evergy service territory covers 28,130 square miles (72,900 km2) in eastern Kansas and western Missouri. Evergy owns more than 13,700 miles (22,000 km) of transmission lines and about 52,000 miles of distribution lines. Evergy is committed to delivering clean, safe, reliable energy sources today and well into the future. So they’re embracing alternative energy sources to generate more power with less impact on our environment and adopting new technologies that let their customers manage their energy use in ways that work for them. Whether it’s new ways to connect with them, electric vehicle charging stations, or the next innovation around the corner, they’re dedicated to empowering a better future. It generates electricity through coal, hydroelectric, landfill gas, uranium, natural gas, oil sources, and solar, wind, and other renewable sources. The company has approximately 10,100 circuit miles of transmission lines, 39,800 circuit miles of overhead distribution lines, and 13,000 circuit miles of underground distribution lines. It serves approximately 1,620,400 customers, including residences, commercial firms, industrials, municipalities, and other electric utilities.

Mr. Wilder is the Executive Chairman of Bluescape. He serves on the boards of directors of several private portfolio companies and has previously served on the board of many private and public companies, including NRG Energy, Inc. and TXU Corp. He served in executive officer roles in TXU Corp., Entergy Corp., and Royal Dutch/Shell Group. Mr. Wilder received his bachelor of science in business administration from Southeast Missouri State University and holds a master of business administration from the University of Texas.

Opinion: This is our largest position. If interest rates are expected to rise, it’s not enough to dissuade Wilder and his investment group from amassing a large position in Evergy. The XLU, the utility ETF is making new highs but not for the reasons we own this group.  Electricity usage is set to skyrocket if the EV automobile revolution happens as expected.  As regulated utilities, they are guaranteed a certain rate of return. Revenues go up and if the rate structure is left intact, these companies print money.

 

Name: Norrington Lorrie M
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2021-12-06 Shares Bought: 3,733 Average Price Paid: $66.51 Cost: $248,282

Name: Moskovitz Dustin A
Position: CEO Chairman 10% Owner
Transaction Date: 2021-12-13 Shares Bought: 1,250,000 Average Price Paid: $65.02 Cost: $81,280,385
Company: Asana Inc. (ASAN)
Asana is a web and mobile application designed to help teams organize, track, and manage their work. Forrester, Inc. reports that “Asana simplifies team-based work management. Asana helps teams orchestrate their work, from small projects to strategic initiatives. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Asana has more than 100,000 paying customers and millions of free organizations across 190 countries. Global customers such as Amazon, Japan Airlines, Sky, and Under Armour rely on Asana to manage everything from company objectives to digital transformation to product launches and marketing campaigns. Asana, Inc. offers a work management platform. The Company’s platform enables teams to orchestrate work, from daily tasks to cross-functional strategic initiatives. With its solution, Asana enables individuals to manage and prioritize across each of the projects. Its solution enables individuals to collaborate with teammates and have visibility into each team member’s responsibilities and progress. The Asana solution aids the team leads to manage work across a portfolio of projects or processes. The Company enables executives to communicate company-wide goals, monitor status, and oversee work across projects to gain real-time insights into which initiatives are on track or at risk. Asana is powered by its multidimensional data model called the work graph. The work graph captures and associates work units, the people responsible for executing those units of work, the processes in which work gets done, information about that work, and the relationships across and within the data.

Lorrie Norrington has served as a member of our board of directors since July 2019 and as our lead independent director since August 2021. Ms. Norrington has served as an operating partner of Lead Edge Capital LLC, a growth equity investment firm, since October 2012. Ms. Norrington previously served in several senior management roles at eBay Inc., a multinational e-commerce publicly traded company, from June 2005 to September 2010, including President of Global eBay Marketplaces, Chief Operating Officer of eBay Marketplaces, and President of eBay International. Ms. Norrington currently serves on the boards of directors of Autodesk, Inc., HubSpot, Inc., and Colgate-Palmolive Company, and she also previously served on the boards of directors of Eventbrite, Inc. from April 2015 to August 2020 and of DirectTV from February 2011 to August 2015.

Dustin Moskovitz is the co-founder and CEO of Asana. As Asana’s CEO, Dustin is dedicated to creating a product that helps the world’s teams collaborate effortlessly, in addition to leading the company’s award-winning culture. Prior to founding Asana, Dustin co-founded Facebook and served as the company’s first Chief Technology Officer and VP of Engineering.

Opinion: Just a month or two, Moskovits buying a few million worth of ASAN stock would have seen it skyrocketing. Now it can barely hold a gain. We’ve never understood the rationale of selling stock to the public in the mid $ ’30s and buying it back for twice the price and more just a year later. ASAN has no defensible moat in our opinion and just because he made a fortune as a co-founder of Facebook doesn’t mean he has a Midas touch. Paul Allen co-founded one really amazing company, Microsoft, and the scores of businesses he was involved in afterward really never lit the torch.  There are two takeaways here- one , you only need on great investment in life to be set, and two, just because you had one great idea- it doesn’t mean everything you touch turns to gold. In fact the opposite is more likely.

 

Name: Hamm Harold
Position: Director 10% Owner
Transaction Date: 2021-12-03 Shares Bought: 117,020 Average Price Paid: $43.33 Cost: $5,070,746
Company: Continental Resources Inc. (CLR)
Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR) is a Top 10 independent oil producer in the U.S. Lower 48 and a leader in America’s energy renaissance. Based in Oklahoma City, Continental is the largest leaseholder and one of the largest producers in the nation’s premier oil field, the Bakken of North Dakota and Montana. The Company also has leading positions in Oklahoma, including its SCOOP Woodford and SCOOP Springer discoveries and the STACK and Northwest Cana plays. With a focus on the exploration and production of oil, Continental has unlocked the technology and resources vital to American energy independence and our nation’s leadership in the new world oil market. Continental Resources, Inc. explores for, develops, and produces crude oil and natural gas primarily in the north, south, and east regions of the United States. The company sells its crude oil and natural gas production to energy marketing companies, crude oil refining companies, and natural gas gathering and processing companies. As of December 31, 2020, its proved reserves were 1,104 million barrels of crude oil equivalent (MMBoe) with proved developed reserves of 627 MMBoe.

Growing up in rural Oklahoma, Mr. Hamm went to work in the oil fields as a teenager and established Continental Resources in 1967 at the age of 21. He built a grassroots startup into an NYSE-traded, Top 10 oil producer in the U.S. Lower 48. As a voice for America’s oil and natural gas industry and as the leader of one of America’s top E&P companies, he has helped to make America energy independent. Mr.Hamm also co-founded and serves as Chairman of the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance, which aims to preserve the millions of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity and tax revenues generated by onshore drilling and production activities within the United States. Through his work with DEPA, Mr. Hamm is widely recognized as the man who led the charge to lift America’s 40-year-old ban on U.S. crude oil exports.

Opinion: Where does Harold get the money?  

He only buys, rarely sells.  Something doesn’t add up.

 

Name: Dillon Adrian T
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2021-12-14  Shares Bought: 12,375 Average Price Paid: $40.47 Cost: $500,811
Company: Healthequity Inc. (HQY)
HealthEquity, Inc. provides technology-enabled services platforms to consumers and employers in the United States. The company offers cloud-based platforms for individuals to make health saving and spending decisions, pay healthcare bills, compare treatment options and prices, receive personalized benefit and clinical information, earn wellness incentives, grow their savings, and make investment choices; and health savings accounts. It also provides a mutual fund investment platform; and online-only automated investment advisory services through Advisor, a Web-based tool. In addition, the company offers flexible spending accounts; health reimbursement arrangements; and Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act continuation services, as well as administer pre-tax commuter benefit programs. It serves clients through a direct sales force; benefits brokers and advisors; and a network of health plans, benefits administrators, benefits brokers and consultants, and retirement plan record-keepers. HealthEquity, Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Draper, Utah. As the retirement savings gap is widening and healthcare costs keep climbing, they recognize that connected problems require connected solutions. That’s why their mission is to connect health and wealth. By bringing together intuitive technology and remarkable service, they enable millions to achieve wellness today and financial wellbeing tomorrow. In 2019 HealthEquity acquired WageWorks to bring the best possible benefits experience to more employers in more markets. The acquisition further strengthens their dominant market position and enables them to deliver a legendary lineup of integrated benefits solutions.

Adrian Dillon has served as a member of their board of directors since September 2016. Mr. Dillon has served as Chairman of the Board of WNS Holdings Ltd since 2014 and as a member of the board since 2012. He has also served as a member of the board of directors and Chair of the Audit and Finance Committees of Williams-Sonoma, Inc., a specialty retailer of high-quality home products, since 2005. He previously served as a member of the board of directors and Chair of the Audit Committee of Wonga.com, an Internet banking company from 2013 to 2015. He was a member of the board and Chair of the Audit Committee at NDS, a leading global provider of end-to-end software solutions to the pay-television industry when the company was acquired by Cisco in 2012. 

Opinion: I’m taking a wild swing at this one.  Cloud-based software companies as a group make little or no money. The business model must be predicated on the land grab theory. If you can establish yourself as the dominant player in your niche, once the competition has exhausted itself, gone bankrupt trying to compete against an overwhelmingly financed leader that makes no money (think Amazon);. you raise prices and print money. I’m not so certain that can work with Health Equity. It may work right now with Uber.  Uber has effectively eliminated the taxi industry and is in the prices of raises prices around the globe. I don’t see

 

Name: Upchurch Michael W
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2021-12-14  Shares Bought: 10,000 Average Price Paid: $38.43 Cost: $384,300
Company: WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. (WSC)
Now that WillScot and Mobile Mini have joined forces, they’re better equipped than ever to do what we do best – make life easier for customers. As North America’s leader in the innovative flexible workspace and portable storage solutions, They are the only provider on the continent that can deliver everything customers need. Space. Storage. Furnishings. Services. Everything. With one order from them, they’re Ready to Work. Every facet of their company is geared toward providing this value. Their strong team of service-focused experts. Their vast fleet of quality portable units. Their turnkey solutions with limitless add-on options. The expansive network lets them deliver anywhere fast. The whole company is built to serve customer needs. When customers call them, it’s the only call they need to make – because we’re the only company that can service their entire site. No other company in our industry has the resources, acumen, or service commitment to fully deliver on this approach. They have combined the best of WillScot and Mobile Mini. The best practices. The best industry knowledge. The best resources. They believe this will deliver the best results for their customers, and their shareholders. WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. provides modular space and portable storage solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. The company leases various office space and storage solutions for temporary applications across a customer base in the commercial and industrial, construction, retail, education, natural resources, health care, government, transportation, security, and energy sectors. It operates a fleet of over 350,000 portable offices and storage containers. WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Mr. Upchurch served as a Director for the Mobile Mini Board since February 2019 and continues in this capacity for WillScot Mobile Mini. He is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Kansas City Southern (“KCS”). KCS is a transportation holding company that has railroad investments in the U.S., Mexico, and Panama linking the commercial and industrial centers of North America. Mr. Upchurch has been Chief Financial Officer at KCS since October 2008, having joined KCS in March 2008. Prior to KCS, Mr. Upchurch held various positions at Sprint, most recently as Senior Vice President – Financial Operations. He began his career as an accountant with Price Waterhouse.

Opinion: I don’t get it. WSC should be a REIT, an income-producing property but it pays no dividend. Maybe one day it will. Jefferies analyst Philip Ng says WillScot Mobile Mini shares are “starting to break out” with TDR Capital out of the stock and the biggest hurdle of the Mini integration behind it. WillScot is moving to the next phase from its special purpose acquisition company origins with a “cleaner” capital structure and improved balance sheet, which should drive multiple expansion, Ng tells investors in a research note. He says the private equity overhang is now lifted while the CEO and CFO have an aligned incentive comp with shareholder value creation. Ng keeps a Buy rating on the shares with a $36 price target.

 

Name: Bassoul Selim A
Position: CEO
Transaction Date: 2021-12-10  Shares Bought: 114,000 Average Price Paid: $38.42 Cost: $4,379,705

Name: Ruchim Arik W
Position: Director 10% Owner
Transaction Date: 2021-12-13  Shares Bought: 225,000 Average Price Paid: $37.55 Cost: $8,447,833

Name: Jaffer Rehan H
Position: Partners Management Lic 10% Owner
Transaction Date: 2021-12-13  Shares Bought: 225,000 Average Price Paid: $37.55 Cost: $8,447,833
Company: Six Flags Entertainment Corp. (SIX)
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, more commonly known as Six Flags or Six Flags Theme Parks, is an American amusement park corporation headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns more theme parks, and waterparks combined than any other amusement park company globally and have the seventh-highest attendance in the world. The company operates 27 properties throughout North America, including theme parks, amusement parks, water parks, and a family entertainment center. In 2019, Six Flags properties hosted 32.8 million guests. Six Flags was founded in the 1960s and derived its name from its first property, Six Flags Over Texas. The company maintains a corporate office in Midtown Manhattan, while its headquarters are in Arlington, Texas. On June 13, 2009, the corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to crippling debt, which it successfully exited after corporate restructuring on May 3, 2010. The name “Six Flags” originally referred to the flags of the six different nations that have governed Texas: Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the United States (Union), and the Confederate States of America. Six Flags parks are still divided into different themed sections, although many of the original areas from the first three parks have been replaced.

Selim Bassoul was named President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company in November 2021. Mr. Bassoul has served as a director of the Company since February 2020 and was the Non-Executive Chairman of the Board from February 2021 to November 2021. Mr. Bassoul served as President and Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of The Middleby Corporation, a manufacturer of foodservice and processing equipment, from 2004 to 2019. Mr. Bassoul previously served on the boards of Confluence Outdoor, Piper Aircraft, Inc., and Scientific Protein Laboratories LLC. He holds a B.A. in Business Administration from the American University of Beirut, and an M.B.A. in Finance and Marketing from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Arik Ruchim has served as a director of the Company since January 2020. Mr. Ruchim is a Partner at H Partners, LP, an investment management firm. Prior to joining H Partners in 2008, Mr. Ruchim was at Creative Artists Agency and Cruise/Wagner Productions. Mr. Ruchim currently serves as a director of Tempur Sealy International, Inc., the world’s largest bedding provider, where he serves as a member of its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and its Compensation Committee, and as a member of the University of Michigan’s Tri-State Leadership Council, a group dedicated to enhancing educational opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. Mr. Ruchim previously served as a director of Remy International, Inc., a global manufacturer of automotive parts, and as a director of Dick Clark Productions, a television production company.

Rehan Jaffer, the founder of hedge fund H Partners, is considering what to do with his investment in Six Flags. H Partners had invested a significant amount of the firm’s capital in the senior bonds of U.S.-based Six Flags.

Opinion: There is heavy insider buying in Six Flags. The Omicron Covid variant couldn’t come at a worse time. I’d sit this one out for the most part. Six flags should be a big recipient of post-Covid leisure trends but the likely headlines over the winter don’t look promising.

Name: Kirkland Derek G
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2021-12-14 Shares Bought: 6,500 Average Price Paid: $38.14 Cost: $247,905
Company: Jackson Financial Inc. (JXN)
Jackson Financial Inc., through its subsidiaries, primarily provides a suite of annuities as retirement savings and income solutions to retail investors in the United States. It offers variable, fixed index, and fixed annuities. The company’s variable annuities offer investors a selection of funds, including domestic and international funds, actively and passively managed funds, and professionally managed asset allocation funds, as well as small, mid, and large-cap funds. It also offers traditional guaranteed investment contracts, Federal Home Loan Bank funding agreements, and medium-term note funding agreements; life insurance products; investment management; and capital and risk management services. The company sells its products through a distribution network that includes independent broker-dealers, wirehouses, regional broker-dealers, banks, independent registered investment advisors, third-party platforms, and insurance agents. Jackson Financial Inc. was formerly known as Brooke (Holdco1) Inc. and changed its name to Jackson Financial Inc. in July 2020. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Lansing, Michigan offices with additional offices in Franklin, Tennessee, and Chicago, Illinois. Jackson Financial Inc. was formerly a subsidiary of Prudential (US Holdco 1) Limited.

Kirkland is the former Managing Director and Co-Head of the Global Financial Institutions Group at Morgan Stanley’s Financial Institutions Group in Investment Banking, where he advised many notable companies on M&A and capital raising.

Opinion: A recent IPO that is in the rare company of IPOs that have made shareholders in the aftermarket money. It’s a thoroughly unexciting company, though.

 

Name: Alford Bradley A
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2021-12-16 Shares Bought: 13,000 Average Price Paid: $36.88 Cost: $479,409
Company: Perrigo Co Plc. (PRGO)
Perrigo Company plc provides over-the-counter (OTC) health and wellness solutions that enhance individual well-being by empowering consumers to prevent or treat conditions that can be self-managed. The company operates through Consumer Self-Care Americas, Consumer Self-Care International, and Prescription Pharmaceuticals segments. The Consumer Self-Care Americas segment focuses primarily on the development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of store brand, self-care products in categories, including upper respiratory, pain and sleep-aids, digestive health, nutrition, vitamins, minerals and supplements, healthy lifestyle, skincare, and personal hygiene, and oral self-care in the United States, Mexico, Canada, and South America. The segment offers its products under the brand names of Prevacid 24HR, Good Sense, Zephrex D, ScarAway, Plackers, Rembrandt, Steripod, Firefly, REACH, and Dr. Fresh. The Consumer Self-Care International segment develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes consumer self-care brands through a network of pharmacies, wholesalers, drug and grocery store retailers, and para-pharmacies in approximately 30 countries, primarily in Europe. The Prescription Pharmaceuticals segment develops, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of generic prescription drugs, such as creams, ointments, lotions, gels, shampoos, foams, suppositories, sprays, liquids, suspensions, solutions, controlled substances, injectable, hormones, oral solid dosage forms, and oral liquid formulations in the United States, as well as pharmaceutical and diagnostic products in Israel. In addition, it offers contract manufacturing services. Perrigo Company plc was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

Bradley A. Alford has been a director of Perrigo since February 2017. Mr. Alford joined Advent International Corporation, a global private equity firm, in 2014 as an Industry Advisor and moved to Operating Partner in March of 2016. From 2006 to 2013, Mr. Alford was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé USA. Mr. Alford also served as CEO and President of Nestlé Brands Company. He currently serves as a director of Avery Dennison Corporation since April 2010 and previously served as a director of Conagra Brands, Inc. from July 2015 to September 2018. Throughout his career, Mr. Alford has been focused on developing brands, initiatives to improve processes and facilitate best practices across an organization.

Opinion: Perigo has been dead money for a decade. Why that changes eludes me. We’re on the sidelines even though value-based investing should be making a comeback

 

Name: Brewer Oliver G
Position: CEO
Transaction Date: 2021-12-02 Shares Bought: 4,000 Average Price Paid: $25.55 Cost: $102,199
Company: Callaway Golf Co. (ELY)
Callaway Golf Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures and sells golf clubs and golf balls, apparel, gear, and other products. It operates through two segments, Golf Equipment; and Apparel, Gear, and Other. The Golf Equipment segment provides drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges, and packaged sets, putters, and pre-owned golf clubs under the Callaway and Odyssey brands, as well as golf balls under the Callaway Golf and Strata brand names. The Apparel, Gear, and Other segment offer golf apparel and footwear; golf accessories, including golf bags, golf gloves, headwear, and practice aids under the Callaway brand; and golf and lifestyle apparel, hats, luggage and accessories, footwear, belts, hats, socks, and underwear under the TravisMathew brand name. This segment also provides storage gear for sport and personal use, including backpacks; travel, duffel, and golf bags; and storage gear accessories, as well as outerwear, headwear, and accessories under the OGIO brand. In addition, it offers outdoor apparel, such as jackets, trousers, and tops; and footwear, and outdoor equipment, including packs and bags, travel bags, tents, sleeping bags, and accessories. The company sells its products through golf retailers, sporting goods retailers, mass merchants, Internet retailers, department stores, field representatives, online retailers, mail order stores, and in-house sales representatives, as well as to third-party distributors in the United States and approximately 100 countries. It also offers pre-owned golf products through its Website callawaygolfpreowned.com; and OGIO and TravisMathew products through its Websites callawaygolf.com, odysseygolf.com, ogio.com, and travismathew.com. The company was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in Carlsbad, California.

Oliver “Chip” Brewer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Callaway Golf Company, is a proven leader in the golf industry where he has held executive positions since 1998. He has extensive knowledge of all facets of the golf business, particularly in sales and marketing. Brewer assumed his leadership of Callaway Golf on March 5, 2012, arriving with a firm belief in technology-driven products and a track record of increasing market share and shareholder value. Prior to joining Callaway Golf, Brewer served as CEO of Adams Golf from 2002-2012, where he engineered a turnaround that drove the company to profitability. He was widely credited with transforming Adams from a single-product focus to a diversified brand portfolio. 

Opinion: Too small of a purchase to be notable.

 

Name: Ford William Clay
Position: JR Chairman
Transaction Date: 2021-12-10  Shares Bought: 412,500 Average Price Paid: $20.62 Cost: $8,505,750
Company: Ford Motor Co. (F)
Ford Motor Company designs, manufactures, markets, and services a range of Ford trucks, cars, sport utility vehicles, electrified vehicles, and Lincoln luxury vehicles worldwide. It operates through three segments: Automotive, Mobility, and Ford Credit. The Automotive segment sells Ford and Lincoln vehicles, service parts, and accessories through distributors and dealers, as well as through dealerships to commercial fleet customers, daily rental car companies, and governments. The Mobility segment designs and builds mobility services, and provides self-driving systems development services. The Ford Credit segment primarily engages in vehicle-related financing and leasing activities to and through automotive dealers. It provides retail installment sale contracts for new and used vehicles; and direct financing leases for new vehicles to retail and commercial customers, such as leasing companies, government entities, daily rental companies, and fleet customers. This segment also offers wholesale loans to dealers to finance the purchase of vehicle inventory; and loans to dealers to finance working capital and enhance dealership facilities, purchase dealership real estate, and other dealer vehicle programs. Ford Motor Company has a strategic collaboration with ARB Corporation Limited to develop a suite of aftermarket products for the new Ford Bronco. The company was founded in 1903 and is based in Dearborn, Michigan.

As executive chair of Ford Motor Company, William Clay Ford Jr. is leading the company that put the world on wheels into the 21st century. He joined the board of directors in 1988 and has been its chair since January 1999. Through the years, his vision for the company has remained unchanged. After joining the company in 1979 as a product planning analyst, he held positions in manufacturing, sales, marketing, product development, and finance. During the 1982 Ford-United Auto Workers labor talks, which launched the employee involvement movement that revolutionized the industry, he served on the company’s National Bargaining Team. In 1983 he began a 12-month course of study as an Alfred P. Sloan fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was elected chair and managing director of Ford Switzerland in 1987.

Opinion: Ford will likely be the #2 seller of EV vehicles next year. They will sell all they can make but the nagging question is how profitable a business this will be. Lithium carbonate and hydroxide, key input costs for batteries needed to produce these cars are surging.

Name: Heystee Susan
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2021-12-10 Shares Bought: 12,500 Average Price Paid: $19.95 Cost: $249,313
Company: ChargePoint Holdings Inc. (CHPT)
ChargePoint Holdings, Inc. provides electric vehicle (EV) charging networks and charging solutions in the United States. It offers a portfolio of hardware, software, and services for commercial, fleet, and residential customers. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Campbell, California. For more than a decade, ChargePoint has been singularly focused on enabling the movement of all people and goods on electricity. Today, ChargePoint is facilitating mass electric vehicle (EV) adoption as one of the largest charging networks in the world with a strong leadership position in North America and a growing presence in Europe. The company has an established, capital-light business model with growth that is directly proportional to rapidly increased EV penetration. ChargePoint is a market leader and has helped pioneer networked fueling, offering one of the industry’s most comprehensive portfolios of hardware, software, and services for commercial, fleet, and residential customers. Businesses, fleets, and drivers turn to the ChargePoint team for EV charging education, resources, and technology as they look to participate in the new fueling network. ChargePoint has more than 4,000 commercial and fleet customers and has delivered more than 87 million charging sessions to date, but this is just the beginning. With the total cumulative investment in EV charging infrastructure in the United States and Europe expected to be $60 billion by 2030* and $192 billion by 2040*ChargePoint’s established business model, comprehensive portfolio for nearly every charging scenario today, recurring revenue, and growing customer base demonstrate it is well-positioned to continue to lead as the electric mobility revolution accelerates.

Susan Heystee has more than 30 years of software and technology experience, currently serving as a strategic advisor and director of Ouster, Inc., a leading global lidar technology company that builds high-resolution 3D digital lidar sensors for use in automotive, robotics, industrial automation, and smart infrastructure. Susan has served as a member of the Ouster board of directors since September 2018. Previously Susan led Verizon Telematics Global OEM Business where she managed partnerships with leading OEMs including Daimler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Hino Motor Sales USA, Mack, and Volvo on embedded Consumer and Commercial connected services in Europe, Americas, and Asia.

Opinion: We made a lot of money on ChargePoint last year and sold out at $39. In hindsight, this was more than luck. We read CHPT was suing Duke Energy to force them to put their charging infrastructure in place in North Carolina. This was a revelation. The reality is that regulated electric utilities are the low-cost provider for electric charging in every jurisdiction.  This is going to be their business if they want it and its one of the main reasons we love the sector.

 

Name: Ernst Mark A
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2021-12-13  Shares Bought: 50,000 Average Price Paid: $16.51 Cost: $825,463
Company: Blucora Inc. (BCOR)
Blucora, Inc. provides technology-enabled financial solutions to consumers, small business owners, tax professionals, financial advisors, and certified public accounting firms in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Wealth Management and Tax Preparation. The Wealth Management segment offers an integrated platform of brokerage, investment advisory, and insurance services to financial advisors. The Tax Preparation segment provides digital do-it-yourself tax preparation solutions through TaxAct.com; and ancillary services, including refund payment transfer, audit defense, stored value cards, retirement plan services, and e-filing services. This segment also offers professional tax preparer software that allows professional tax preparers to prepare and file individual and business returns. The company was formerly known as InfoSpace, Inc. and changed its name to Blucora, Inc. in June 2012. Blucora, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. At Blucora, they’re motivated by a simple belief – that everyone should have the tools and knowledge they need to master the complicated tax landscape and leverage it to their short and long-term benefit. They bring simplicity and transparency to the tax filing process and enable their customers to leverage their full range of data for tax-advantaged investing. They have a focus on flexibility – our customers are able to choose the level and nature of support they need for that specific point in their financial lifetime, from do-it-yourself tools to wealth management with a certified professional.

Mr. Ernst currently serves as the Managing Partner at Bellevue Capital LLC, a private investment firm, a role he has held since May 2018. Prior to joining Bellevue, Mr. Ernst served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Fiserv, Inc. from January 2011 to April 2018, where he had oversight responsibility for the major operating businesses and support organizations of the enterprise. His focus included enterprise-wide quality improvement and product management efforts. Mr. Ernst previously served as deputy commissioner for operations support for the Internal Revenue Service from January 2009 to November 2010. From 2008 to 2009, Mr. Ernst served as chief executive officer of Bellevue. Mr. Ernst served in various executive roles at H&R Block, Inc., including as chairman, president, and chief executive officer from 2001 to 2007, and as a chief operating officer from 1998 until 2000.

Opinion: Blucora sounds like a blood-based biotech. Not sure why this is even on my list but I want the reader to make up their own mind since this is a large purchase.  Infospace, Inc. was a private label search engine, online directory, and provider of metadata feeds. The company’s flagship metasearch site was Dogpile and its other notable consumer brands were WebCrawler and MetaCrawler. It seems there is an activist investor lobbying for some change “Ancora, a sizable stockholder of Blucora, issued the following open letter to the Company’s board of directors: “Ancora continues to believe that there is a tremendous amount of value trapped within Blucora’s underperforming stock. In particular, we remain convinced that Avantax is a high-quality wealth management business with a strong base of talented financial professionals. This is why we intend to be a long-term stockholder of the Company. We are writing to you today in light of the approximately 6% decline in Blucora’s stock price since its second quarter earnings release and conference call on August 4, 2021” according to Fy on the Wall November 2nd article.

 

Name: Fennimore Thomas
Position: CFO
Transaction Date: 2021-12-14 Shares Bought: 16,000 Average Price Paid: $15.05 Cost: $240,754
Company: Luminar Technologies Inc. (LAZR)
Luminar Technologies Inc. is an American technology company that develops vision-based lidar and machine perception technologies, primarily for self-driving cars. The company’s headquarters and main research and development facilities are in Orlando, Florida; a second major office is located in Palo Alto, California. Luminar (Nasdaq: LAZR) is an autonomous vehicle sensor and software company with the vision to make autonomy safe and ubiquitous by delivering the only lidar and associated software that meets the industry’s stringent performance, safety, and economic requirements. Luminar has rapidly gained over 50 industry partners, including 8 of the top 10 global automotive OEMs. In 2020, Luminar signed the industry’s first production deal for autonomous consumer vehicles with Volvo Cars, while also striking deals with Daimler Truck AG and Intel’s Mobileye. Luminar has also received minority investments from the world’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, Daimler Truck AG, and Volvo Cars, a global leader in automotive safety, to accelerate the introduction of autonomous trucks and cars at highway speed. Founded in 2012, Luminar is a nearly 400-person team with offices in Palo Alto, Orlando, Colorado Springs, Detroit, and Munich.

Fennimore Thomas For the past 25 years, Tom led many of the automotive industry’s most significant and successful financial endeavors that have shaped the future of the industry globally. Before joining Luminar, from 2014 to May 2020, Tom was the Global Head of Automotive and the Co-Head of the Industrials Group at Jefferies Group, LLC, and for 17 years prior, at Goldman Sachs in a variety of roles, including Global Head of Automotive and Co-Head of Goldman’s Industrials Group based in Beijing, China. Over that time, Tom managed IPOs, financings, and M&As for the likes of Tesla, Mobileye, Sensata, GM, Fiat Chrysler, BYD, Beijing Auto, Guangzhou Auto, Ballard Power, Cobasys, Key Safety Systems, Takata, Tower Automotive, Delphi, TowerSec, Visteon and many others.

Opinion: Elon Musk infamously labeled lidar based approach as a fools errand. In spite of this it was one of the hottest SPACs and like most of them have come down to earth. If you believethere is a place for Lidar based navigation, this one is with a closer look.

 

Name: Rankin Aubrey
Position: President
Transaction Date: 2021-12-03 Shares Bought: 30,000 Average Price Paid: $14.43 Cost: $432,876
Company: Revance Therapeutics Inc. (RVNC)
Revance Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company, engages in developing, manufacturing, and commercializing neuromodulators for various aesthetic and therapeutic indications in the United States and internationally. The company’s lead drug candidate is DaxibotulinumtoxinA for injection (DAXI), which has completed phase III clinical trials for the treatment of glabellar (frown) lines and cervical dystonia; is in phase II clinical trials to treat upper facial lines, moderate or severe dynamic forehead lines, and moderate or severe lateral canthal lines; and has completed Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of adult upper limb spasticity and plantar fasciitis. It is also developing DAXI in preclinical trials for the treatment of migraine and a topical program for various indications, and OnabotulinumtoxinA, a biosimilar to BOTOX. The company has a collaboration and license agreement with Viatris Inc. to develop and regulate biosimilar to BOTOX. The company was formerly known as Essentia Biosystems, Inc. and changed its name to Revance Therapeutics, Inc. in April 2005. Revance Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Newark, California. Founded in Silicon Valley 20 years ago, Revance fuses cutting-edge science with an ingrained entrepreneurial spirit to transform patient and physician experiences. They have a team of motivated, talented professionals across the U.S. who collectively aim to transform patient experiences and disrupt the status quo. Exceptional talents with passion, creativity, and dedication to improving lives will immediately contribute to their ambitious pipeline and unique culture. Their employees work on challenging projects in a supportive environment that provides opportunities for growth and development. They celebrate and embrace differences for the success of their business, their employees, and their community. Revance is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. Revance recognizes that its employees are the key to their success.

Aubrey Rankin joined Revance Therapeutics in 2020 as President of Innovation & Technology and as a member of Revance’s board of directors. Previously, Mr. Rankin was the co-founder & CEO of HintMD, a fintech platform developed specifically for medical aesthetic practices; which was acquired by Revance Therapeutics in 2020. Prior to co-founding HintMD, Mr. Rankin served as Vice President of Asia-Pacific at ZELTIQ Aesthetics (ZLTQ). During his tenure, he led accelerated growth in the Asia-Pacific region and was part of a larger management team responsible for one of the most successful business turn-around efforts within the medical aesthetics industry.

Opinion: It’s a hard row to furrow being a Botox competitor. I haven’t seen any of the competitors work for shareholders.

 

Name: Porter Jennifer E
Position: Chief Marketing Officer
Transaction Date: 2021-12-10  Shares Bought: 30,000 Average Price Paid: $11.99 Cost: $359,700
Company: Arhaus Inc. (ARHS)
Arhaus, Inc. provides merchandise assortments across various categories, including furniture, lighting, textiles, décor, and outdoor furniture product that includes bedroom, dining room, living room, home office furnishings; textile products consist of handcrafted indoor and outdoor rugs, bed linens, and pillows and throws décor products include wall art, mirrors, vases, candles, and other decorative accessories and outdoor products comprise outdoor dining tables, chairs, chaises and other furniture, lighting, textiles, décor, umbrellas, and fire pits. The company distributes its products through an omnichannel model comprising showrooms, e-commerce platforms, catalog, and in-home designer services. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Boston Heights, Ohio. Arhaus offers original handcrafted designs at 70 privately owned and operated store locations in the U.S. and online at arhaus.com. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, we collaborate with skilled artisans worldwide to create (and recreate) pieces that reflect many cultures, from Italy to Indonesia. The result is an eclectic mix of designs exclusive to our stores and arhaus.com. Furnishing a Better World: This is the premise of the Arhaus design philosophy; it dates back to 1986 when the father and son John and Jack Reed opened the first store location in the historic Flats District downtown Cleveland and vowed never to use wood from the world’s endangered rainforests in the making of an Arhaus design. Today, nearly 50 percent of the product assortment is made of recycled material—everything from glass to metals like copper and reclaimed wood from buildings no longer standing and vessels no longer set sail. Timbers are either reclaimed or sustainably sourced. A Port City Called Aarhus: The Danish port city Århus (pronounced ohr-HOOSE) inspired the name. John came across Arhus on a map and took an immediate liking. After a few minor modifications, “Arhaus” represented the warmth and luxury of the then (and now) home furnishings offered. Store Footprint: Stores average 16,000+ sq. ft. and are filled with one-of-a-kind handcrafted home furnishings reflective of a distinct global point-of-view.

Jennifer Porter works as a Chief Marketing Officer at Arhaus, which is a Furniture company with an estimated 1,460 employees; and was founded in 1986. They are part of the Marketing Executive team within the C-Suite Department and their management level is C-Level. Jennifer is currently based in Boston Heights, United States. They used to work at The Corners of Brookfield and Anthropologie.

Opinion: Expensive online furniture will be a niche product. There is already a lot of competition. I can’t get excited about this.

 

Name: Phillipson Dawn
Position: CFO
Transaction Date: 2021-12-14  Shares Bought: 50,000 Average Price Paid: $11.62 Cost: $581,000
Company: Arhaus Inc. (ARHS)
Arhaus offers original handcrafted designs at 70 privately owned and operated store locations in the U.S. and online at arhaus.com. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, they collaborate with skilled artisans worldwide to create (and recreate) pieces that reflect many cultures, from Italy to Indonesia. The result is an eclectic mix of designs exclusive to their stores and arhaus.com. Furnishing a Better World: This is the premise of the Arhaus design philosophy; it dates back to 1986 when the father and son John and Jack Reed opened the first store location in the historic Flats District downtown Cleveland and vowed never to use wood from the world’s endangered rainforests in the making of an Arhaus design. Today, nearly 50 percent of the product assortment is made of recycled material—everything from glass to metals like copper and reclaimed wood from buildings no longer standing and vessels no longer set sail. Timbers are either reclaimed or sustainably sourced. A Port City Called Arhus: The Danish port city Århus (pronounced ohr-HOOSE) inspired the name. John came across Arhus on a map and took an immediate liking. After a few minor modifications, “Arhaus” represented the warmth and luxury of the then (and now) home furnishings offered. Arhaus, Inc. provides merchandise assortments across various categories, including furniture, lighting, textiles, décor, and outdoor furniture product that includes bedroom, dining room, living room, home office furnishings; textile products consist of handcrafted indoor and outdoor rugs, bed linens, and pillows and throws décor products include wall art, mirrors, vases, candles, and other decorative accessories and outdoor products comprise outdoor dining tables, chairs, chaises and other furniture, lighting, textiles, décor, umbrellas, and fire pits. The company distributes its products through an omnichannel model comprising showrooms, e-commerce platforms, catalogs, and in-home designer services. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Boston Heights, Ohio.

Dawn Phillipson has served as our Chief Financial Officer since February 2019. Ms. Phillipson previously served as our Senior Vice President, Finance from May 2017. Prior to that, Ms. Phillipson served in various roles of increasing responsibility in our finance department. Prior to joining the Company in 2016, Ms. Phillipson worked at Signet Jewelers in the Investor Relations department from 2011 to 2016.

Opinion:

 

Name: Hernandez Marlow
Position: CEO
Transaction Date: 2021-12-01  Shares Bought: 12,500 Average Price Paid: $8.75 Cost: $109,375

Name: Hernandez Marlow
Position: CEO
Transaction Date: 2021-12-06  Shares Bought: 15,000 Average Price Paid: $8.00 Cost: $120,000
Company: Cano Health Inc. (CANO)
Cano Health, Inc. provides primary care medical services to its members in the United States and Puerto Rico. It owns and operates medical centers enabled by CanoPanorama, a proprietary population health management technology-powered platform that provides the healthcare providers at its medical centers with a 360-degree view of their members with actionable insights to improve care decisions and member engagement. The company also operates pharmacies, as well as provides dental services in its medical centers. As of July 2, 2021, it operated 106 owned medical centers and approximately 800 affiliate providers serving approximately 197,000 members. The company was founded in 2009 and is based in Miami, Florida. Their mission is to improve patient health by delivering superior primary care medical services while forging a life-long bond with their members. Their vision is to become the national leader in primary care by improving the health, wellness, and quality of life of the communities we serve while reducing health care costs. They focus relentlessly on enhancing patient well-being. They show empathy and treat patients like family. They know that they are all responsible for delivering world-class services. They provide state-of-the-art primary care medicine and personalized patient care, to deliver a proactive approach to wellness and preventive care. They focus on enhancing patient well-being.

Dr. Marlow Hernandez is the Chief Executive Officer of Cano Health and serves on its Board of Directors. Under Hernandez’s leadership, Cano Health has become one of the fastest-growing and most respected healthcare companies in Florida abiding by cultural attributes, which stand on the principles of always placing the needs of patients above all else; while striving to create a better and sustainable health care model to improve the lives of all Americans. Hernandez began practicing medicine in Pembroke Pines, FL alongside his family’s dental practice. Practicing medicine, running the medical business, while also taking on the task of night and weekend duties at local hospitals, Hernandez became one of the most accomplished medical professionals in the state before reaching the age of 30.

Opinion: This is a name we really like. If it wasn’t born of SPAC it would be significantly richer in price now. Eventually, the SPAC financial players will be gone and this is a long-term hold.  The health care delivery system in this country is clearly broken and Cano has a low-cost vision to improve it. CEO Hernandez purchased $14.3M back in August at $10.88.

Name: Samaha Eli
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2021-12-03 Shares Bought: 292,961 Average Price Paid: $8.14 Cost: $2,383,930
Company: Stagwell Inc. (STGW)
Stagwell Inc. provides marketing, advertising, activation, communications, and strategic consulting solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers global advertising and marketing, data analytics and insights, mobile and technology experiences, direct marketing, business consulting, database and customer relationship management, sales promotion, corporate communications, market research, social media strategy and communications, product and service innovation, and e-commerce management services; corporate identity, design, and branding services; and media buying, planning, and optimization services. The company was formerly known as MDC Partners Inc. and changed its name to Stagwell Inc. in August 2021. Stagwell Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in New York, New York. They are a digital-first global marketing network that delivers scalable, seamless solutions through a unique combination of culture-moving creativity and leading-edge technology. They believe the marketplace demands new kinds of marketing companies that combine in-depth data, insightful analytics, and a complete understanding of the digital landscape. Their global network of forward-thinking agencies empowers them to think bigger, adapt faster, and provide greater value for the world’s most ambitious brands.

Eli Samaha is the Founder and Managing Partner of Madison Avenue Partners, LP, a value-focused investment manager whose partners include leading university endowments, hospital systems, and philanthropic foundations. Prior to founding Madison, Mr. Samaha was a Partner at Newtyn Management and held roles at KPS Capital Partners and GSC Group. He received a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Dartmouth College.

Opinion: A collection of disparate ad agencies under one umbrella organization. This will unlikely ever have a high multiple and is unattractive to me.

 

Name: Whitehurst Bradford D
Position: CFO
Transaction Date: 2021-12-10  Shares Bought: 67,121 Average Price Paid: $7.45 Cost: $499,998

Name: Warren Kelcy L
Position: Chairman
Transaction Date: 2021-12-10  Shares Bought: 16,109,139 Average Price Paid: $7.45 Cost: $120,000,198
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. 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

Mr. Whitehurst was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Energy Transfer in January 2021. From August 2014 through 2020 he served as ET’s Executive Vice President – Head of Tax. Prior to joining Energy Transfer, Mr. Whitehurst was a partner in the Washington, DC office of Bingham McCutchen LLP and an attorney in the Washington, DC offices of both McKee Nelson LLP and Hogan & Hartson. Mr. Whitehurst has specialized in partnership taxation and has advised ET and its subsidiaries in his role as outside counsel since 2006. He will continue to serve as a member of the board of directors of USA Compression Partners, LP.

Kelcy L. Warren is Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Energy Transfer LP and has been a leader in the energy industry for nearly 40 years. Mr. 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 LP, Sunoco LP, and USA Compression Partners, LP.

Opinion: Large dividends and one of the largest hydrocarbon infrastructure plays in the country. The whole sector is on sale and this is a blue-chip in the group. Patient investors will be rewarded and earn big bucks while they wait.

 

Name: Levenick Zachary
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2021-12-13  Shares Bought: 40,000 Average Price Paid: $7.02 Cost: $280,995
Company: Barnes & Noble Education Inc. (BNED)
Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. operates bookstores for college and university campuses and K-12 institutions in the United States. It operates in three segments: Retail, Wholesale, and Digital Student Solutions. The company sells and rents new and used print textbooks, digital textbooks, and publisher-hosted digital courseware through physical and virtual bookstores, as well as directly to students through Textbooks.com. It also offers First Day and First Day Complete access programs; BNC OER+, a turnkey solution for colleges and universities, that offers digital content, such as videos, activities, and auto-graded practice assessments; and general merchandise, including collegiate and athletic apparel, school spirit products, lifestyle products, technology products, supplies, and convenience items. In addition, the company sells hardware and a software suite of applications that provides inventory management and point-of-sale solutions; direct-to-student subscription-based writing services; and Bartleby, a direct-to-student subscription-based offering that includes textbook solutions, expert questions and answers, AI-based writing assistance, and tutoring services. As of June 29, 2021, it operated 769 physical college and university bookstores; and 648 virtual bookstores. The company also operates 148 True Spirit e-commerce websites; pop-up retail locations; and 77 customized cafés and 12 stand-alone convenience stores. Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.

Zachary Levenick was elected to the Board in October 2020. Mr. Levenick has been a private investor in real estate and public and private securities with a focus on growing innovative or disruptive businesses in established industries, including financial services, female health, and fitness since January 2019. From 2002 to January 2019, Mr. Levenick served in various roles at Taconic Capital Advisors, LP (“Taconic”), a multibillion-dollar New York-based private investment firm, most recently serving as Principal, Co-Head of European Investing beginning in 2011. During his time at Taconic, Mr. Levenick co-managed the firm’s London-based European operations and was Portfolio Manager for European Equities investing, were focus areas included consumer products, retail, and general industries. He also established and oversaw Taconic’s public and private investment efforts in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina, where focus areas included education and logistics.

Opinion:????

 

Name: Hurlbert Craig M
Position: CEO
Transaction Date: 2021-12-02 Shares Bought: 112,107 Average Price Paid: $6.82 Cost: $765,013

Name: McKinney Mark Alan
Position: COO
Transaction Date: 2021-12-02 Shares Bought: 46,455 Average Price Paid: $6.68 Cost: $310,087

Name: Valiasek Kathleen
Position: CFO
Transaction Date: 2021-12-02 Shares Bought: 15,746 Average Price Paid: $6.35 Cost: $100,000
Company: Local Bounti Corporation. (LOCL)
Local Bounti is a premier controlled environment agriculture (CEA) company redefining conversion efficiency and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards for indoor agriculture. Local Bounti operates an advanced indoor growing facility in Hamilton, Montana, within a few hours’ drive of its retail and foodservice partners. Reaching retail shelves in record time post-harvest, Local Bounti produce is superior in taste and quality compared to traditional field-grown greens. Local Bounti’s USDA Harmonized Good Agricultural Practices (GAP Plus+) and non-genetically modified organisms (GMO) produce is sustainably grown using proprietary technology 365 days a year, free of pesticides and herbicides, and using 90% less land and 90% less water than conventional outdoor farming methods. With a mission to ‘bring our farm to your kitchen in the fewest food miles possible,’ Local Bounti is disrupting the cultivation and delivery of produce. Local Bounti is also committed to making meaningful connections and giving back to each of the communities it serves. At Local Bounti, they strive to deliver the freshest, locally grown produce in your neighborhood. We sustainably grow fresh greens and herbs 365 days a year in their greenhouses, using 90% less water and 90% less land than conventional agriculture. Perfect environmental greenhouse conditions ensure the highest possible nutritional value and taste. They are non-GMO and pesticide/herbicide-free. Their sustainable, root-on, living products result in less environmental impacts, carbon footprint, and less waste. It’s their goal to bring their farm to your kitchen.

Mr. Hurlbert co-founded Local Bounti Corporation and, since April 1, 2021, has served as Co-Chief Executive Officer at Local Bounti. Mr. Hurlbert is also a co-founder of BrightMark Partners, a growth equity and management firm providing capital and resources to venture, growth phase, and middle-market businesses, and has served as a Managing Partner since January 2014. From December 2000 to April 2020, Mr. Hurlbert served in various leadership roles, including President, Chief Executive Officer, and, most recently from May 2013 to April 2020, as Chairman of the Board of TAS Energy, a leading provider of high efficiency and modular cooling and energy systems for the data center, commercial, industrial and power generation markets. Mr. Hurlbert also held leadership roles at General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) and North American Energy Services.

Mark is a highly experienced executive and a global food industry leader with over 30 years of domestic and international experience with premier food companies such as Sunkist and Dole Food Company. He has more than two decades of executive-level experience in the food industry with a solid track record of achievement. He previously served as COO of Fruit Growers Supply (a cooperative of Sunkist Growers) where he managed six business verticals as well as all supply chain operations to support 39 packinghouse customers and thousands of Sunkist growers. Prior to that, he served as CEO of Al Ghurair Foods, where he managed nine business lines with manufacturing operations in four countries in the Middle East, including the largest poultry operations and flour mills in the UAE.

An entrepreneurial executive, Kathleen brings a 30-year record of driving profitable growth in public and privately held companies from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, within the biotech, retail, telecommunications, real estate, and healthcare markets. Most recently, Kathleen served as CFO and CBO of Amyris, Inc., a publicly-traded biotech and commercial stage manufacturing company with global operations. She closely partnered with the CEO to expand product offerings in B2B and consumer markets. Kathleen raised over $1B in debt and equity financing while simultaneously reducing debt and attracting institutional investors. As CBO, Kathleen led the strategic market entry into the pharmaceutical industry. During her tenure, Amyris’ market cap grew from $300M to $5B.

Opinion:

 

Name: Sciarra Paul Cahill
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2021-12-15  Shares Bought: 155,000 Average Price Paid: $6.32 Cost: $980,220
Company: Joby Aviation Inc. (JOBY)
Joby Aviation is a California-headquartered transportation company developing and manufacturing an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing aircraft. They intend to operate as a commercial passenger aircraft beginning in 2024. They have spent more than a decade developing and testing our zero-emissions aircraft that will travel 150+ miles on a single charge, enabling a pilot and four passengers to leapfrog over the congestion below at speeds of up to 200 mph. Their long-term vision is to build a global passenger service that saves a billion people an hour every day while helping to protect their precious planet. As well as strategic partnerships with Toyota and Uber, They have a team of more than 800 engineers and experts working to bring aerial ridesharing to their skies. They’ve spent more than a decade developing and testing an all-electric aircraft that will help them achieve their vision of saving a billion people an hour every day while helping to protect their precious planet. Designed to take off and land vertically, their aircraft will travel 150+ miles on a single charge, allowing a pilot and four passengers to leapfrog over the congestion below, emissions-free. Their aircraft is quiet when it takes off and is nearly silent in flight, opening up unprecedented opportunities for traveling in both congested cities and under-served rural communities. With more than 1000 test flights behind us, they’re planning to start commercial passenger flights in 2024. Their team comprises around 1000 awesome people, with offices in Santa Cruz, San Carlos, Marina, California, and Washington D.C., and Munich, Germany.

Paul Sciarra. Paul Sciarra has served as the Executive Chairman and a member of our board of directors since November 2016 and was our first outside investor. Lending his deep product knowledge and business acumen to the company, he was instrumental in the move to a four-seat aircraft operating within a service-based model. In August 2008, Mr. Sciarra co-founded Pinterest, Inc., an image sharing and social media service company. Mr. Sciarra also served as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm. Mr. Sciarra holds a B.A. from Yale University. We believe that Mr. Sciarra’s experience as an entrepreneur along with his contributions to Joby as its Executive Chairman makes him well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.

Opinion: We own smatterings of all the vertical take-off aircraft plays. This will be one of the biggest technology changes in the next five years. It’s impossible at this time to know who has the best business plan so we bought small amounts in all of them. There is also insider buying in Archer Aviation ACHR.

 

Name: Mali Lincoln Camagu
Position: CEO
Transaction Date: 2021-12-13 Shares Bought: 24,006 Average Price Paid: $5.63 Cost:$135,154

Name: Mali Lincoln Camagu
Position: CEO
Transaction Date: 2021-12-03 Shares Bought: 42,143 Average Price Paid: $5.16 Cost: $217,400
Company: Net 1 Ueps Technologies Inc. (UEPS)
Net 1 UEPS Technologies, Inc., a financial technology company, provides fintech products and services to unbanked and underbanked individuals and small businesses primarily in South Africa and internationally. The company develops payment technologies to offer financial and value-added services to its customers. It operates through three segments: Processing, Financial Services, and Technology. The Processing segment provides transaction processing services that involve the collection, transmittal, and retrieval of all transaction data to its customers. The Financial Services segment includes activities related to the provision of financial services to customers, including bank accounts, loans, and life insurance products. This segment also provides short-term loans to customers. The Technology segment sells hardware, such as point of sale devices, SIM cards, and other consumables; and licenses the right to use certain technology developed by the company, as well as offers related technology services. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Lincoln C. Mali 53 years old Director since 2021 Mr. Mali has been our Chief Executive Officer: Southern Africa since May 1, 2021. Mr. Mali is a financial services executive with over 25 years in the industry. Until April 2021, he was the Head of Group Card and Payments at Standard Bank Group, having served in many different roles within that organization since 2001. Mr. Mali chaired the board of directors of Diners Club South Africa until April 2021 and was a member of the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa Business Council for Visa. Mr. Mali holds Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degrees from Rhodes University, an MBA from Henley Management College, various diplomas, and attended an Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Opinion: Ugly stock, tough business, avoid.

 

Name: Ciolek John
Position: VP
Transaction Date: 2021-12-15  Shares Bought: 45,000 Average Price Paid: $1.94 Cost: $87,498
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.

John A. Ciolek is Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives at NGL Energy Partners, LP. Prior to joining NGL Energy, Mr. Ciolek was a Managing Director of Investment Banking in the oil and gas group at Credit Suisse. He joined Credit Suisse in August 2015 from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., where he had served since 2011 as head of the Midstream/MLP business within the North American energy group. He previously served for fourteen years with Citigroup’s Global Energy Group, and before that at Paine Webber, Inc. Over the course of his banking career, Mr. Ciolek completed a wide range of investment banking transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, equity capital markets, high yield and investment-grade debt and corporate lending transactions.

Opinion: Although NGL doesn’t pay a dividend, I expect them to resurrect it as the energy sector has broadly recovered. We continue to like it and although a small purchase, its good to someone besides, Krimball, the CEO, purchasing shares in NGL.

 

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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 a lot of 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 is 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 I. 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

The Insiders Fund was the 4th best long-short equity fund in the world in 2019