It’s all AI, Chat GPT, large langauge models, and generative image models. Nvidia’s blowout quarter and guidance sent the market into a bull run seizure moment. Meanwhile, you hear more and more stories about fake information generated by this “breakthrough AI,” including the latest example on Twitter where an attorney was reprimanded by a judge for his brief, which included fake prior cases entirely fabricated by AI.
We can’t ignore the promise, but we certainly shouldn’t be blindsided by the hype. Tread carefully here. At the Insiders Fund, we try to filter out the noise. Here’s what real insiders are buying- not fictitious Form 4s made up by Bard and ChatGPT.
You can be an insider, too– by clicking here
Name: Kevin ODonnell
Position: Pres & Chief Executive Officer
Transaction Date: 2023-05-26 Shares Bought: 13,020 Average Price Paid: $192.00 Cost: $2,499,840
Company: Renaissancere Holdings Ltd (RNR)
RenaissanceRe is a worldwide reinsurance and insurance company that links well-structured risks with efficient funding sources. The company primarily offers property, liability, and specialty reinsurance, as well as some insurance solutions, to consumers via intermediaries. We were founded in 1993 and have offices in Bermuda, Australia, Ireland, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The corporation is a global property, casualty, and specialized reinsurance leader. The corporate strategy is built on competitive advantages: excellent risk selection, outstanding client relationships, and superior capital management. Customers and partners benefit from the firm through financial stability, innovative goods, and timely service. The firm is well-known for paying genuine claims on time.
Kevin J. O’Donnell is the President and Chief Executive Officer of RenaissanceRe, a significant worldwide property and casualty reinsurer. He joined RenaissanceRe in 1996 and has held positions such as Executive Vice President and Global Chief Underwriter, President of Renaissance Reinsurance Ltd., and Chief Underwriting Officer for the Company’s joint ventures, Top Layer Re and DaVinci Re. Mr. O’Donnell is an active member of many industry and educational organizations, including the Chair of The ClimateWise Insurance Advisory Council, a member of the Sustainable Markets Initiative Insurance Task Force, a Trustee of The Institutes, and a member of the Board of Overseers for St. John’s University School of Risk Management. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Hamilton College and an M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Opinion:
Name: Michael Marberry
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-05-18 Shares Bought: 1,400 Average Price Paid: $142.35 Cost: $199,290
Company: American Water Works Company Inc. (AWK)
American Water is the biggest and most geographically varied publicly traded water and wastewater utility business in the United States in terms of both operational revenues and population service. The bulk of the Company’s activity is conducted via regulated utilities that offer water and wastewater services, collectively referred to as “Regulated Businesses.” The Company also conducts other market-based companies that supply water and wastewater services to the US government on military facilities and municipalities. The major business of the Company is the ownership of utilities that supply water and wastewater services to residential, commercial, industrial, public authority, fire service, and sale for resale clients.
Michael L. Marberry was named an independent American Water board of directors member on December 7, 2022. From 2009 until 2022, Mr. Marberry was President and CEO of J.M. Huber Corporation and a member of its Board of Directors. Mr. Marberry was appointed Board Chair of Huber Energy in 2008. Mr. Marberry also served as the Board Chair of CP Kelco from 2011 to 2022. He served as Board Chair for Huber Engineered Woods and HEM for ten years. Mr. Marberry has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kentucky and an MBA from Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business. He is also a Board Governance Fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors.
Opinion: Water utility companies in an era where global warming is a constant reminder of draught should be a good investment. Utilities are fighting the Fed’s rate hiking regime. Once the Fed takes its foot off the economy, I expect utilities in general to rally.
Name: Thomas Francis Kelly
Position: SVP, EM
Transaction Date: 2023-05-19 Shares Bought: 2,000 Average Price Paid: $107.29 Cost: $214,580
Company: Celanese Corp. (CE)
Celanese Corp is a multinational chemical and specialty materials corporation. The firm is a worldwide leader in producing high-performance engineered polymers used in a wide range of high-value applications, as well as one of the world’s top makers of acetyl products, which are intermediate chemicals needed in virtually all major industries. Automotive, chemical additives, construction, consumer and industrial adhesives, consumer and medical, energy storage, filtration, food and beverage, paints and coatings, paper and packaging, performance industrial, and textiles are among the end-use applications served by the broad product portfolio. The goods have leading worldwide positions because of distinct business strategies, extensive global manufacturing capacity, operational efficiency, proprietary technology, and competitive cost structures.
Thomas Kelly has been the Senior Vice President of Engineered Materials at Celanese Corporation since January 2019. Tom joined the business from Cabot Microelectronics Corporation, where he held multiple positions from 2016 to 2018, most recently as President of Performance Materials. Thomas worked at Celanese as the Director of Raw Materials Procurement from 2012 until 2016. Before joining Celanese in 2016, Thomas had several operational and commercial responsibilities at Rohm & Haas, Cabot Microelectronics, and Chemtura. Thomas received his Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from Villanova University and his Master of Business Administration from Drexel University.
Opinion: Although not large purchases, there were three insider buys in May. U.S.-based chemical manufacturers have a strategic edge as they have access to abundant and cheap natural gas and electricity raw inputs that are critical in the manufacture of most of their products. Heavy cyclical industries are not where you want to be in the event of a recession, but how much of this is already priced in is impossible to tell. Note that Berkshire Hathaway owns about 960,000 shares of CE in its stock portfolio in the 1st quarter of 2023 13 F.
Name: Thomas Arthur Bell
Position: CEO
Transaction Date: 2023-05-22 Shares Bought: 6,300 Average Price Paid: $78.81 Cost: $496,502
Company: Leidos Holdings Inc. (LDOS)
Leidos was founded in 1969 by physicist Dr. Robert Beyster. Since its establishment 54 years ago, the business has used its experience in science, research, and engineering in fast-expanding technologies and industries to tackle challenges of global relevance. Leidos is a FORTUNE 500® technology, engineering, and scientific firm that delivers services and solutions in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health industries domestically and abroad. The business provides domain-specific capabilities and innovations to clients in these areas using five technological core competencies: digital modernization, cyber operations, mission software systems, integrated systems, and mission operations. Using technically sophisticated solutions to assist clients in tackling their most formidable challenges has allowed the company to develop strong connections with major customers.
Tom Bell is the CEO of Leidos. Before becoming CEO in May 2023, Bell held leadership positions in various renowned aerospace organizations for approximately 40 years. He was formerly President of Rolls-Royce Defence, where he headed a worldwide team of 10,000 specialists offering cutting-edge power, propulsion, and support solutions to clients in over 100 countries. In addition, Bell was the Chairman and CEO of Rolls-Royce North America, Inc., where he was in charge of all North American operations and all workers, facilities, and clients in the United States. Bell has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Louisiana State University and a Master of Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology. He now serves on the Executive Committee of the Aerospace Industries Association.
Opinion: Leidos is changing its CEO, but that doesn’t explain the poor stock performance in my mind. Most defense stocks have been selling off, I suppose in anticipation of budget cuts. Now that the latest proposed budget deal increases defense spending modestly, I would expect the group to act better. The world certainly doesn’t look any safer, and I would think that the macro tailwinds would lift the entire group. Almost all countries seem to be increasing their defense budgets.
Name: David M Maura
Position: Executive Chairman and CEO
Transaction Date: 2023-05-22 Shares Bought: 10,000 Average Price Paid: $72.31 Cost: $723,150
Company: Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. (SPB)
Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc is a worldwide branded consumer goods and home necessities firm with a diverse product portfolio. The corporate level determines global and regional strategic aims and financial objectives. Each segment executes stated strategic goals and meets certain financial targets. Each segment has a president in charge of sales and marketing activities and financial outcomes for all product lines within that segment. Finance and accounting, information technology, legal and human resources, supply chain, and commercial activities are backed by center-led shared service-enabling tasks. The following is a summary of the consolidated company, with net sales by segment and geographic area sold as a proportion of consolidated net sales for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022.
David M. Maura served as Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in July 2018. Previously, he served as SPB Legacy’s Executive Chairman, beginning in January 2016, and Chief Executive Officer, beginning in April 2018. Previously, Mr. Maura was a Vice President and Senior Analyst at Wachovia Securities’ High Yield Group, covering numerous consumer goods, service, and retail firms. Mr. Maura started his work with ZPR Investment Management as a Financial Analyst. Mr. Maura was the Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Mosaic Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, from October 2017 to January 2020, when the firm merged with Vivint Smart Home, Inc. Mr. Maura has a B.S. in Business Administration from Stetson University and is a CFA charter holder.
Opinion: SPB has gone nowhere in 5 years. I don’t expect this to change.
Name: Jeffrey Richart Geygan
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-05-18 Shares Bought: 5,148 Average Price Paid: $49.48 Cost: $254,714
Company: Climb Global Solutions Inc. (CLMB)
Climb Global Solutions Inc. is a corporation that provides value-added information technology distribution and solutions. The Company principally works via its “Distribution” sector, which under the brand “Climb Channel Solutions,” sells innovative technologies through corporate resellers, value-added resellers, consultants, and systems integrators globally. Under the moniker “GreyMatter,” the Company also runs a smaller business called “Solutions,” a cloud solutions provider and value-added reseller of software, hardware, and services for clients globally. The Company offers a comprehensive line of products from leading software vendors and tools for virtualization/cloud computing, security, networking, storage, infrastructure management, application lifecycle management, and other technically sophisticated domains, as well as computer hardware, across both segments.
Mr. Geygan was appointed to the Board of Directors in February 2018. Mr. Geygan is the CEO and President of Global Value Investment Corp., an investment research and advising business he created in 2007. Before establishing Global Value Investment Corp., Mr. Geygan worked as a Senior Portfolio Manager at UBS Financial Services, Inc. Mr. Geygan has worked in investment management and finance since 1987 and is a specialist in financial statement analysis. Mr. Geygan has taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses at IE University in Madrid, Spain, the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Lubar School of Business, and the College of Charleston. Mr. Geygan serves on the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. Board of Directors. Mr. Geygan also serves on the Department of Economics Advisory Board at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Opinion: CLMB is making moves, and the stock is reacting favorably. I’m not crazy about solution providers as it’s tough to scale a business that depends on body counts, although its $1 million revenue/employee ratio is in the comfort zone. Operating margins increased last quarter to 6.93%, above its five-year average of 3.85%
Name: Peter I Tumminello
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-05-23 Shares Bought: 5,000 Average Price Paid: $47.35 Cost: $236,750
Company: DT Midstream Inc. (DTM)
DT Midstream Inc owns, operates, and develops an integrated portfolio of natural gas midstream assets. The Customers are served by interstate pipelines, intrastate pipelines, storage systems, lateral pipelines with related treatment plants and compression and surface facilities, and gathering systems with related treatment plants and compression and surface facilities. The core assets strategically connect key demand centers in the Midwestern United States, Eastern Canada, and the Northeastern United States to the premium production areas of the Marcellus/Utica natural gas formation in the Appalachian Basin, as well as key demand centers and LNG export terminals in the Gulf Coast region to the premium production areas of the Haynesville natural gas formation.
Peter I. Tumminello has been on the boards of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Careerspring, DT Midstream, Inc. since May 2021, and Southern Company Gas Charitable Foundation, Inc. He formerly served as President of Sequent Energy Management LLC, Group President-Commercial Businesses at Southern Company Gas, Principal at EnergyUSA-TPC, Inc., Vice President-Energy Supply at Green Mountain Energy Co., and Principal at Arco Oil & Gas Co. Mr. Tumminello has an undergraduate degree from Louisiana Tech University and an MBA from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Opinion: DT has been positioned as a pure play natural gas play. Natural gas has been trading at historic lows, and the price is not expected to improve materially until more takeaway infrastructure is built for LNG in 2024-2025.
Name: Greg Scheu
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-05-22 Shares Bought: 4,700 Average Price Paid: $43.23 Cost: $203,191
Company: nVent Electric plc (NVT)
nVent Electric plc is a worldwide leader in the supply of electrical connection and protection solutions. Innovative electrical solutions make systems safer and contribute to a more secure society. The company creates, produces, sells, installs, and supports high-performance products and solutions that link and secure mission-critical equipment, buildings, and processes. The firm provides various enclosures, electrical fastening systems, and thermal management solutions via industry-leading brands recognized worldwide for quality, dependability, and innovation. The extensive product and solution portfolio connects and protects clients’ mission-critical equipment from hazardous conditions, increasing utilization, saving costs, and minimizing downtime. The cost of the items is often a minor component of the overall cost of the customers’ final systems.
Mr. Scheu served as President of the Americas and Head of Group Service and Business Integration at ABB, Inc., a subsidiary of major global technology corporation ABB Ltd, from 2015 until his retirement in October 2019. Mr. Scheu was also a member of ABB Ltd.’s Executive Committee from 2012 until retirement. He was the Head of Business Integration, Group Service, and North America at ABB, Inc. from 2013 to 2014. He was Head of Marketing and Customer Solutions from 2012 to 2013. Mr. Scheu joined ABB in 2001 and was in charge of integrating important acquisitions into the company. Mr. Scheu started StratPro Partners, a consultancy and advising business, after leaving ABB in 2019. He is also a senior adviser at Lindsay Goldberg, a private equity firm.
Opinion: Maybe a roll-up play.
Name: Paul A Jacobson
Position: Executive Vice President & CFO
Transaction Date: 2023-05-19 Shares Bought: 31,000 Average Price Paid: $32.60 Cost: $1,010,600
Company: General Motors Co (GM)
General Motors Company was formed as a Delaware company in 2009. The firm designs, builds and sells trucks, crossovers, automobiles, and vehicle components and offers software-enabled services and subscriptions globally. The company’s automotive activities address customer expectations via automotive segments: GM North America and GM International, which design, build, and sell automobiles under the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands. The corporation also has equity ownership shares in companies that satisfy clients’ needs in other countries, especially in China, with automobiles designed, produced, and sold under the Baojun, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Wuling brands. Cruise is the worldwide division responsible for developing and marketing autonomous vehicle technologies.
Paul Jacobson joined General Motors in December 2020 as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Before joining GM, Jacobson was CFO of Delta Air Lines, Inc., which he helped convert into one of Fortune magazine’s Top 50 Most Admired Companies for six years. He was elected the airline industry’s finest CFO eight times by a survey of Wall Street experts and investors conducted by Institutional Investor magazine. Jacobson earned a bachelor’s degree in aviation management from Auburn University and a master’s in business administration from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. He is a trustee of the Auburn University Foundation, a member of Auburn’s Harbert College of Business Advisory Council, and Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management Board of Visitors.
Opinion: I always like a large CFO purchase. Will the transition to electric vehicles be a huge impetus to growth or a margin-crushing death match for market share? It looms over this industry group like Damocles Sw. This is probably a decent trade at this price, but a long-term hold is not something I would consider yet.
Name: Richard A Johnson
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-05-19 Shares Bought: 10,000 Average Price Paid: $29.54 Cost: $295,380
Company: H&R Block Inc (HRB)
H&R Block helps and inspires confidence in its customers and communities worldwide via worldwide tax preparation services, financial products, and small business solutions. The firm combines digital innovation with human experience and caring to help customers receive the greatest tax results and be better with money by utilizing the SpruceSM mobile banking app. Through Block Advisors and Wave, the firm helps small business owners succeed by offering innovative solutions such as Wave Money, a mobile-first, small-business bank account that automates accounting automatically.
Richard A. Johnson is a businessman who has served as Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Foot Locker, Inc., as well as Treasurer and Director of the Retail Industry Leaders Association. Richard A. Johnson previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Lady Foot Locker, Manager of Graebel Van Lines, Inc., President and Chief Executive Officer of Footaction USA, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Footlocker.com, Inc., President and Chief Executive Officer of Kids Foot Locker, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eastbay, Inc., and President and Chief Executive Officer of Foot Locker Europe BV. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a bachelor’s degree.
Opinion: It’s tough to compete with free. The IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs offer free basic tax return preparation. It’s even tougher to compete with Intuit’s Quickbooks and Quicken and their tax filing offering.
Name: D Randolph Peeler
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-05-22 Shares Bought: 40,470 Average Price Paid: $25.65 Cost: $1,038,093
Company: National Vision Holdings Inc. (EYE)
National Vision Holdings Inc. is one of the major optical retailers in the United States and a market leader in the attractive value area of the optical retail business in the United States. The organization believes that vision is essential to the quality of life and that everyone, regardless of income, deserves to see and live their best lives. The company aims to make high-quality eye care and eyeglasses cheap and accessible to all Americans. This is accomplished by offering eye tests, eyeglasses, and contact lenses to value-seeking and lower-income customers. The firm provides outstanding value and convenience to clients with an initial price point that seeks to be among the lowest in the market, supported by a low-cost operational infrastructure.
D. Randolph Peeler has been a director since March 2014. Mr. Peeler joined Berkshire in 1996 and was promoted to Managing Director in 2000. Mr. Peeler previously co-founded a privately held healthcare services firm and worked as a Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy. Mr. Peeler formerly worked as a consultant for Cannon Associates and Bain & Company. Mr. Peeler has been a director of many Berkshire portfolio businesses, including Affordable Care, Inc., Husky International, Inc., Lightower Fibre Networks, and Curriculum Associates, LLC. Mr. Peeler has an A.B. from Duke University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Opinion: This is a large buy. I don’t like bricks and mortar retail and omni channel. It’s hard to do one thing well, much less two.
Name: Michael Stuart Rosenthal
Position: Chief Operating Officer
Transaction Date: 2023-05-19 Shares Bought: 10,000 Average Price Paid: $21.21 Cost: $212,100
Company: MP Materials Corp. (MP)
MP Materials Corp. is the Western Hemisphere’s biggest producer of rare earth materials. The Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility, the only operating rare earth mining and processing facility of its magnitude in North America, is owned and operated by the company. It owns the mining rights to the Mountain Pass mine and nearby territories and intellectual property rights to rare earth minerals processing and development. The firm was established in 2017 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
MP Materials’ Founder and Chief Operating Officer is Michael Rosenthal. He has been in charge of the Mountain Pass business since the Company purchased it in 2017. Before joining MP Materials, he was a Partner with QVT Financial, an investment management business. Mr. Rosenthal focused his efforts at QVT on investments in the global automotive industry and China. He formerly worked at Shenkman Capital Management as a senior high-yield credit analyst. Mr. Rosenthal earned an A.B. in Economics and Comparative Area Studies from Duke University.
Opinion: Rare earth, restoring supply chains, and going green- are all nice buzzwords and treacherous investments.
Name: Packer Craig
Position: President and CEO
Transaction Date: 2023-05-19 Shares Bought: 75,600 Average Price Paid: $13.23 Cost: $1,000,188
Company: Owl Rock Capital Corp (ORCC)
Owl Rock Capital Corporation is a corporation that specializes in business development. The fund invests in senior secured or unsecured loans, subordinated or mezzanine loans, and equity-related instruments such as warrants and preferred stocks. In addition, it seeks preferred equity and ordinary stock investments. It tries to invest in growth, acquisitions, market or product expansion, refinancings, and recapitalizations within private equity.
Craig Packer is a Co-Founder and Senior Managing Director of Blue Owl Capital Inc. and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and the board of directors. Mr. Packer is also a Co-Founder of Owl Rock Capital Partners, serves as Co-Chief Investment Officer and a member of the Executive Committees of the Owl Rock Advisers, and is President and Chief Executive Officer of each of the Owl Rock BDCs, as well as a member of the Owl Rock Investment Committees. Mr. Packer formerly worked at Goldman Sachs & Co. as the Co-Head of Leveraged Finance in the Americas. Mr. Packer joined Goldman Sachs & Co. in 2006 as a Managing Director and Head of High Yield Capital Markets and was appointed a partner in 2008. Mr. Packer has a B.S. from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Opinion: Too difficult to analyze for me.
Name: Kelcy L Warren
Position: Executive Chairman
Transaction Date: 2023-05-22 Shares Bought: 750,000 Average Price Paid: $12.79 Cost: $9,592,500
Company: Energy Transfer LP. (ET)
Energy Transfer LP, a Delaware limited partnership, trades its common units. Additionally, the corporation has assets in other companies, such as publicly listed master limited partnerships Sunoco LP and USAC. Cash flow for Energy Transfer comes from distributions relating to its ownership in its subsidiaries, such as USAC and Sunoco LP. Energy Transfer’s main liquidity needs include distribution to partners, general and administrative costs, and debt servicing obligations. After satisfying the liquidity above criteria, Energy Transfer distributes any remaining cash to its unitholders every quarter.
Kelcy L. Warren is the 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 industry’s largest and most diversified publicly traded energy companies. Today, the Energy Transfer family of partnerships includes Energy Transfer LP, Sunoco LP, and USA Compression Partners LP.
Opinion: I wonder where Kelcy gets all this dough. He buys millions and millions of dollars worth of ET and never sells. Fortunately, for longs, there have been other insider buys, but it does make me wonder if the 9.7% dividend yield is too good to be true. No insiders ever sell. ET exports more In total; we continue to export more NGL than any other company or country, with their percentage of worldwide NGL exports remaining at approximately 20% of the global market. Although in just planning stages, Energy Transfer and Oxy are working together to obtain long-term commitments of CO2 from industrial customers in the Lake Charles, Louisiana area. If this project reaches FID, Energy Transfer would construct a CO2 pipeline to connect the customers in Oxy’s sequestration site in Allan Parish, Louisiana.
Although not immune from commodity price pressure, ET has stated a targeted 3% to 5% annual distribution growth rate and four times to four and a half times leverage target, all while maintaining significant free cash flow for growth.
Name: William A Hawkins
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-05-24 Shares Bought: 88,000 Average Price Paid: $2.68 Cost: $235,567
Company: Bioventus Inc. (BVS)
Bioventus Inc., a medical device firm, focuses in the United States and globally on creating and commercializing therapies that activate and augment the body’s natural healing process. The firm’s product line comprises pain treatments, including non-surgical joint pain injection therapies and peripheral nerve stimulation items. Its surgical solutions include bone graft replacements used to fuse and grow bones, as well as to improve outcomes after spinal and other orthopedic surgery, and ultrasonic medical devices used for precise bone sculpting, tumor removal, and tissue debridement. Restorative treatments offered by the firm include a bone healing system, skin allografts, wound healing products, and devices meant to assist patients in restoring limb or hand function after a stroke, multiple sclerosis, or other central nervous system problems.
Will Hawkins is Medtronic’s former Chairman and CEO and the current Lead Director of Immucor, Inc., a private corporation owned entirely by TPG, a prominent private equity firm. Immucor is a global leader in transfusion and transplantation diagnostic products. He serves on governmental and private boards, as well as non-profit boards. From October 2011 until July 2015, Mr Hawkins served as President and CEO of Immucor. Mr. Hawkins was formerly the Chairman and CEO of Medtronic, one of the world’s biggest and most creative medical technology businesses. Mr. Hawkins earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical and biomedical engineering at Duke in 1976 and did pathology research. 1982 he received an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.
Opinion:
Name: Shyam Sankar
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-05-18 Shares Bought: 400,000 Average Price Paid: $1.28 Cost: $512,000
Company: Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings Inc. (DNA)
Name: Harry Sloan
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-05-18 Shares Bought: 350,000 Average Price Paid: $1.28 Cost: $448,000
Company: Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings Inc. (DNA)
Ginkgo is the premier cell programming platform, offering adaptable, end-to-end services that address problems for organizations in various industries, from food and agriculture to pharmaceuticals and industrial and specialty chemicals. Concentric by Ginkgo, Ginkgo’s biosecurity and public health branch are constructing global infrastructure to allow governments, communities, and public health professionals to avoid, identify, and react to various biological threats. The corporation uses the platform to program cells for consumers. These “cell programs” are intended to allow the biological production of a wide range of goods, including innovative medicines, important food components, and chemicals produced from petroleum
Mr. Sankar has worked with Palantir since 2006 in different capacities, most recently as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President. Mr. Sankar graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering and an M.S. in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University.
Harry E. Sloan is the Chairman and CEO of Eagle Equity Partners II, LLC. Under Sloan’s leadership, the firm has purchased and publicly traded many companies, including DraftKings and mobile gaming startup Skillz, in 2020. Sloan formerly served as Chairman and CEO of MGM Studios and created and headed two public firms in the entertainment media space, New World Entertainment and SBS Broadcasting, S.A., one of Europe’s major broadcasters. Sloan is an Associate Professor at UCLA Anderson School of Management and a Trustee of The McCain Institute. Sloan received a B.A. from UCLA and a J.D. from Loyola Law School.
Opinion: This stock has been on a relentless downward slide. ARKK has been a big buyer, and these large insider buys look like a strong short-term bottom in price. I would swing for the fences here but not chase it.
Follow us on Twitter for real-time insider buying alerts at https://twitter.com/theinsidersfund
You can be an insider, too– by clicking here
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 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 within 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. SECForm4 is one of the smaller ones, but I like supporting Frank. He is not arrogant. He’s helpful and has great prices. He also trades on his own data, so I like people that eat what they kill.
The bar is different from selling because the natural state of management is to be a seller. This is because most companies provide significant amounts of management compensation packages as stock and options. Therefore, with selling, we analyze 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 pop up out of nowhere are basically sales and are seeking cover under this corporate welfare loophole. I also generally ignore 10 percent shareholders as they tend to be OPM (other people’s money) and perhaps not the smart money on which we are trying to read the tea leaves. I say generally because some 10% shareholders are great investors. Think Warren Buffett, Icahn, and others
Of course, insiders can also be wrong about their Company’s prospects. Don’t let anyone fool you into believing they never make mistakes. Do your own analysis. They can easily be wrong, 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!
We like Fly on the Wall for keeping up with what events might be happening, analysts’ comments, and whatever else could be moving the stock. Dow Jones news service is an essential tool but many services pick up their feed like they do Bloomberg. For quick financial analysis, it’s hard to beat Old School Value.
A big callout to my assistant Ambreen who sets up this conversation by listing the notable buys that I’ve identified. She probes the 10k for a reasonable description of the business. I’ve found that to be the most accurate and succinct place to find out what a business actually does. The websites and marketing material are just that, poorly disguised marketing material for many. I should know that better than most if you at my past involvement in building the 1st websites for many Fortune 500 companies.
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. 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.
This blog is solely for educational purposes and the author’s own amusement. Don’t rely on this blog. Think of the blog as part of my personal investment journal that I am willing to share with the DIY investor. We welcome your comments on our analysis, but please do your own research. Investing with The Insiders Fund is for qualified investors and by Prospectus only. Nothing herein should be construed otherwise. THE INSIDERS FUND prefers to invest in companies at or near prices that management has been willing to invest significant amounts of their own money in, but we have no requirement to do so. We also invest in many companies in anticipation of future insider buying or with the expectation that there is none at all.
You can be an insider, too– by clicking here
Prosperous Trading,
