Insider Buying Week 06-07-24 It Only Takes One or Two Good Ideas to Make your Portfolio

It’s that familiar time of year again when insiders are blocked from transacting in their own stock. The posts will be light for the next few weeks as companies on the calendar year prepare to report Q2 earnings. The blackout period is also ripe for short sellers to make bear raids, knowing that a swarm of insider buying will not counter them. Nonetheless, it only takes one or two good investments to make your portfolio a winner. I’m highly confident we have that this week. Making money in the market is all about investors with conviction taking money from those who lack it. Insider buying helps you build that confident investment thesis.

 

Name: Sameh Fahmy
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-05-31 Shares Bought: 2,000 Average Price Paid: $222.18 Cost: $444,355
Company: Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC)

Name: Thomas Colm Kelleher
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-05-30 Shares Bought: 2,282 Average Price Paid: $219.96 Cost: $501,958
Company: Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC)

Norfolk Southern Corporation was established in 1980 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia. Norfolk Southern Corporation, through its subsidiaries, transports raw materials, intermediate products, and completed goods across the United States by rail. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consisting of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chem It also carries international freight via several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports and maintains an intermodal network.

Sameh Fahmy has been the company’s independent director since 2024. He has served as an Independent Director at RUMO SA, Executive Vice President-Precision Scheduled Railroading at Kansas City Southern, and Manager-Technical Systems Support at Canadian National Railway Company. Mr. Fahmy also worked as SVP-Engineering, Mechanical, and Supply Management at Canadian National Railway Co. from 1994 to 2013. Sameh Fahmy received his undergraduate and MBA degrees from McGill University.

Mr. Kelleher has been the Chairman of the Board of UBS Group AG since April 2022. He formerly worked as President of Morgan Stanley, a renowned global financial services corporation, from 2016 until his retirement in June 2019. He also served as the Chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A. until June 2019. He previously held the positions of President of Morgan Stanley Institutional Securities from 2010 to 2016, CEO of Morgan Stanley International from 2011 to 2016, Chief Financial Officer and co-head of Corporate Strategy from 2007 to early 2010, and Head of Global Capital Markets at Morgan Stanley from 2006 to 2007. Mr. Kelleher earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Oxford.

Opinion: Railwoods are the most economical means of moving freight in this country and will likely retain this advantage for the foreseeable future. With only a handful of publicly traded companies, Norfolk Southern is the least valued by the market cap of the five large publicly traded railroads. All of them are trading somewhat the same, moribund in a range and currently at the bottom of it.

Norfolk Southern’s revenue has grown at a 12% annualized rate over the past five years and currently yields more than 1.7%. The company hiked its dividend twice in 2021 and doubled its share repurchase target. In years to come, Norfolk Southern plans to return between 35% and 40% of net income to shareholders through continued dividends. NSC, at 4.22 times revenue, is the cheapest of the 5 major railroads based on market cap dividend by revenue, which might indicate room for improved efficiency gains.  According to Copilot 

– Union Pacific Corporation:
– Market Cap: $139.29 billion
– Revenue: $24.09 billion
– Market Cap/Revenue Ratio: $$\frac{139.29}{24.09} \approx 5.79$$
– Canadian National Railway:
– Market Cap: $80.56 billion
– Revenue: $12.51 billion
– Market Cap/Revenue Ratio: $$\frac{80.56}{12.51} \approx 6.45$$
– Canadian Pacific Railway:
– Market Cap: $73.17 billion
– Revenue: $10.31 billion
– Market Cap/Revenue Ratio: $$\frac{73.17}{10.31} \approx 7.11$$
– CSX Corporation:
– Market Cap: $64.49 billion
– Revenue: $14.63 billion
– Market Cap/Revenue Ratio: $$\frac{64.49}{14.63} \approx 4.40$$
– Norfolk Southern Corporation:
– Market Cap: $50.76 billion
– Revenue: $12.02 billion
– Market Cap/Revenue Ratio: $$\frac{50.76}{12.02} \approx 4.22$$

Name: Jared Isaacman
Position: Chairman & CEO / 10% Owner
Transaction Date: 2023-06-06 Shares Bought: 29,669 Average Price Paid: $69.23 Cost: $2,053,931
Company: Shift4 Payments Inc. (FOUR)

Shift4 Payments, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Center Valley, Pennsylvania. Shift4 Payments, Inc. provides software and payment processing solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers a payment platform, omnichannel card acceptance, and processing solutions for various payment types, including credit, debit, contactless cards, Europay, MasterCard, Visa, QR Pay, mobile wallets, and alternative payment methods. They also offer technology solutions such as SkyTab POS, which helps businesses scale and improves operational efficiency; VenueNext, which offers mobile ordering, countertop POS, self-service kiosks, and digital wallets for food and beverage, merchandise, and loyalty; and Lighthouse, a cloud-based suite of business intelligence tools that includes customer engagement, social media management, online reputation management, scheduling, and product pricing. 

Jared Isaacman founded Shift4 in 1999, when he was sixteen years old, in the basement of his parents’ home. Shift4 has consistently pushed the envelope under his leadership, bringing cutting-edge payment technologies and solutions to businesses in several industries. Shift4 began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in 2020. Isaacman was named the EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021 for his leadership at Shift4 and capacity to create long-term value through entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, and expansion.

Opinion: Isaccman put the Company he founded up for sale and did not like the price offers. The stock sold off, and he is putting his money where his mouth is. Following Marcus Lemonis’s 3 P’s rule of investing—people, process, and product—you have to give the highest marks for Jared Isaacman.  Watch the Netflix special on the first civilian space orbit,Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space.

CEO Isaccman says that he has learned a lot about best practices from watching Space X operate and is incorporating that into Shift 4. Investors though are rightfully concerned about the new and bigger Space X mission Isaccman is planning.

 

Name: Richard Scott Blackley
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-05-31 Shares Bought: 11,702 Average Price Paid: $21.31 Cost: $249,378
Company: SLM Corp (SLM)

SLM Corporation was founded in 1972 and is based in Newark, Delaware. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries originate and service private education loans to students and their families to cover the cost of their education in the United States. In addition, it provides retail deposit accounts such as certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and high-yield savings accounts, as well as interest-bearing omnibus accounts. The company was previously known as New BLC Corporation until changing its name to SLM Corporation in December 2013.

Richard Scott Blackley joined the SLM Corporation board of directors in 2022. Richard Scott Blackley serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Oscar Health, Inc., Chief Financial Officer and Director of Oscar Health Agency, Inc., and Chief Financial Officer of Capital Markets Group. He serves on the boards of five other firms. Mr. Blackley previously held the positions of Chief Financial Officer for Capital One Financial Corp., Senior Vice President of Federal National Mortgage Association, Partner at KPMG LLP, and Vice President & Assistant Controller at America Online, Inc. Richard Scott Blackley holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Utah.

Opinion: No opinion.

Name: Jon Faiz Kayyem
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-06-05 Shares Bought: 57,549 Average Price Paid: $17.32 Cost: $997,024

Transaction Date: 2023-06-05 Shares Bought: 286,786 Average Price Paid: $17.18 Cost: $4,927,580
Company: Inhibrx Biosciences Inc. (INBX)

Inhibrx Biosciences, Inc. was established in 2024 and is headquartered in La Jolla, California. The firm is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops biologic therapies for patients with life-threatening illnesses. INBRX-109, a tetravalent therapeutic candidate targeting death-receptor 5 that is in phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic conventional chondrosarcoma; and INBRX-106, a hexavalent sdAb-based therapeutic candidate targeting OX4 that is in phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of metastatic solid tumor, non-small cell lung cancer, melanoma, head and neck cancer, gastric and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and urothelial cell carcinoma. 

Dr. Kayyem has been a member of the Board since April 2018. He founded Clinical Micro Sensors, Inc., Efficacy Capital Ltd., and GenMark Diagnostics, Inc. Dr. Kayyem also founded Calimmune, Inc. Dr. Kayyem’s current positions include Independent Director at Biodesix, Inc. (since 2021), Independent Director at Inhibrx Biosciences, Inc., and Trustee at the California Institute of Technology. Dr. Kayyem’s previous positions include Chief Executive Officer at Osmetech Ltd., Independent Director at Inhibrx, Inc., and Vice President of Sciences at Motorola, Inc. Dr. Kayyem earned an undergraduate degree from Yale University (1984), a graduate degree from Yale University (1985), and a doctorate from the California Institute of Technology (1991).

Opinion: This is one you will have to read a few times. We plan on doing more research on it and may not update our opinion on it so do your own analysis.  It is shockingly reminiscent of Biohaven’s sale of its migraine crown jewel to Pfizer, yet it continued to trade as a stub stock, which the market neglected until insiders began scooping up shares. Biohaven went up 800% from the Pfizer deal. 

According to Post on the Fly, Sanofi announced the completion of its acquisition of Inhibrx. The acquisition adds SAR447537 to Sanofi’s rare disease pipeline, underscoring the company’s commitment to pursuing differentiated and potential best-in-class medicines that build upon our existing strengths and capabilities. SAR447537 is a human recombinant protein that holds the promise of allowing alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency patients to achieve normalization of serum AAT levels with less frequent dosing. AATD is an inherited rare disease characterized by low levels of AAT protein, predominantly affecting the lung with progressive deterioration of the tissue. SAR447537 may help to reduce inflammation and prevent further deterioration of lung function in affected individuals. The former holders of shares of Inhibrx common stock voted to approve the acquisition at a special meeting of stockholders on May 24, 2024. Upon the closing of the acquisition, former shareholders of Inhibrx became entitled to receive $30.00 per share in cash, which represents a total equity value of approximately $1.7 billion, as well as one contingent value right per share to receive $5.00 upon the achievement of a regulatory milestone. Sanofi completed its acquisition of Inhibrx through the merger of an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Sanofi with and into Inhibrx, with Inhibrx continuing as the surviving corporation and becoming an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Sanofi. Prior to the closing of the acquisition, Inhibrx completed the spin-off of Inhibrx Biosciences, distributing 92% of Inhibrx Biosciences’s shares to holders of shares of Inhibrx common stock as of May 17, 2024. Inhibrx Biosciences, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Inhibrx prior to the distribution, acquired all of the assets of Inhibrx not related to SAR447537, which include INBRX-109 and INBRX-1061, as well as all Inhibrx employees, pursuant to an internal reorganization. Inhibrx continues to own the remaining 8% of Inhibrix Biosciences following the completion of the transactions. Inhibrx Biosciences began trading on the NASDAQ Global Market on May 30, 2024, under the ticker “INXB” and, beginning on May 31, 2024, will trade under the ticker “INBX”. As of May 30, 2024, Inhibrx common stock will cease to be traded on the NASDAQ Global Market and will be subsequently deregistered.

Name: Zillah Byng-Thorne
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-05-31 Shares Bought: 13,360 Average Price Paid: $16.50 Cost: $220,440
Company: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH)

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd was created in 1966 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiaries operate cruise ships in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and across the world. The corporation operates under the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. Itineraries range from three to 180 days and visit ports in Scandinavia, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Greek Isles, Alaska, Canada and New England, Hawaii, Asia, Tahiti and the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, Africa, India, South America, the Panama Canal, and the Caribbean. It sells its products via retail/travel advisor and aboard cruise sales channels, as well as meetings, incentives, and charters.

Zillah Byng-Thorne joined the board of directors in 2022. She was the previous CEO of Future plc, a global platform for specialized media. She is a seasoned manager who focuses on driving operational excellence and has a track record of cultivating senior-level talent. She also brings substantial experience in the technology industry, covering specialty areas such as online gaming, digital media, and e-commerce, to the NCLH Board of Directors. She is an Operating Partner with True Capital Limited, an investment company. She has also worked as the interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Trader Media Group, the Commercial Director and Chief Financial Officer of Fitness First, and the Chief Financial Officer of Thresher Group. She formerly served on the boards of Future plc, Flutter Entertainment plc, THG plc, and GoCo Group plc. Zillah obtained a Master of Arts in Management from Glasgow University.

Opinion: Cruises are dominated by seniors. High interest rates put more money into the pockets of wealthy seniors, contributing a strong tailwind to the cruise industry that may not reflect on the real economy.  Mr.Market might have this one wrong as an economic downturn is not adversely affecting this largely retired demographic.

Name: Marcus Lemonis
Position: Executive Chairman Of Board
Transaction Date: 2023-06-05 Shares Bought: 17,075 Average Price Paid: $14.61 Cost: $249,466
Company: Beyond Inc. (BYON)

Beyond, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Midvale, Utah. Beyond, Inc. is an online retailer of furniture and home goods in the United States and Canada. Bed Bath & Beyond’s product offerings include furniture, bedding and bath, patio and outdoor gear, area rugs, tables and cookware, décor, storage and organization, small appliances, home improvement, and other things. The company provides its products and services through its e-commerce platform, which can be accessed via a mobile app and includes bedbathandbeyond.com, bedbathandbeyond.ca, and overstockgov.com. The company also offers businesses the opportunity to advertise their products or services on its website; Marketplace, a service that allows its partners to sell their products through third-party sites; product sales to international customers via third-party logistics providers; and Supplier Oasis, a single integration point that allows partners to manage their products, inventory, and sales channels.

Marcus Lemonis was appointed Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors on February 16, 2024. Lemonis has been a Beyond director since October 2023, and the board’s Chairman since December 2023. Lemonis provides over 25 years of experience in company development and retail expansion, as well as a wide understanding of creating and scaling businesses from the inside out. He is currently the Chairman and CEO of Camping World Holdings, Inc., where he is in charge of creating both Camping World and its sister membership and services firm Good Sam from the bottom up to become the World. He is well-known for his business expertise, which was emphasized on CNBC’s The Profit when he famously urged small firms to focus on their people, processes, and goods to attain stability and profitability.

Opinion: I’d stay away from this as Marcus’s mostly required purchase of shares as a new director doesn’t signify anything of interest to me.

Name: Jassim Abdulaziz Al-Thani
Position: 10% Owner
Transaction Date: 2023-06-04 Shares Bought: 31,319 Average Price Paid: $4.90 Cost: $153,452
Company: AlTi Global Inc. (ALTI)

Name: Michael Tiedemann
Position: Chief Executive Officer
Transaction Date: 2023-06-03 Shares Bought: 47,373 Average Price Paid: $4.86 Cost: $230,460
Company: AlTi Global Inc. (ALTI)

AlTi Worldwide Inc. is a well-known independent worldwide wealth and alternative asset manager that provides fiduciary services, alternative investment strategies, and advice to entrepreneurs, multigenerational families, institutions, and emerging next-generation leaders. The corporation is separated into two business segments: wealth management and strategic alternatives. As of December 31, 2023, the company employs approximately 480 people in 21 cities across 10 countries and three continents. The company’s services build a complementary ecosystem for its target markets of UHNW clients, investors, and businesses, many of whom share similar interests and objectives with which they can connect and serve. The complementing services and diverse range of skills position them well for organic expansion in all business areas.

Jassim Abdulaziz Al-thani is the 10 percent owner of AlTi Global Inc. Jassim Hamad Jabr Al-Thani is a Qatari businessman who has led eight different enterprises. He serves as Chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank, Chairman of QInvest LLC (a subsidiary of Qatar Islamic Bank), Chairman of Qatar Navigation QPSC, Chairman of Damaan Islamic Insurance Co., CEO of Special Projects Co. LLC, CEO of Al Mirqab Capital SPC, and Chairman of Qatar Reinsurance Co. LLC. Mr. Al-Thani is also on the boards of six additional companies. He previously served as the Chairman of QIB Plc. He holds an undergraduate degree from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Michael Glenn Tiedemann created Tiedemann Advisors LLC, where he has been CEO since 1999. He also launched the River Fund. Mr. Tiedemann is currently the CEO and Partner of Tiedemann Wealth Management Holdings LLC, the CEO and Director of AlTi Global, Inc., and a director of Tiedemann Constantia AG. From 2006 to 2023, he was Chief Executive Officer of TIG Advisors LLC, and he has also held positions at Tiedemann Trust Co., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, and Banco de Investimentos Credit Suisse (Brasil) SA. Mr. Tiedemann received his undergraduate degree from Ohio Wesleyan University.

Opinion: There is a lot of competition to collect management fees from the world’s richest people. Isn’t that what Goldman Sachs and others are doing?

Name: Edwin A Miller
Position: Chief Executive Officer
Transaction Date: 2023-06-04 Shares Bought: 200,000 Average Price Paid: $1.36 Cost: $272,000
Company: Marchex Inc (MCHX)

Marchex, Inc. was established in 2003 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The company is a conversation intelligence provider that provides conversational analytics and related solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company offers conversational intelligence AI-powered solutions to market-leading enterprises in the top B2B2C vertical sectors, including some of the world’s most innovative and successful brands. Their objective is to generate intelligence from all forms of business talks. They want to lead vertical market conversational intelligence by combining generative artificial intelligence and data analytics. The company strives to enable performance gains for its customers by providing them with actionable, real-time insights about the conversations they have with their customers via phone, text, and other communication channels. 

Edwin Miller has joined the company as CEO on February 6, 2023. Miller formerly worked as CEO of Astreya, an IT services solution provider, and later joined its Board of Directors after initially advising the company. During Miller’s six-year tenure, the company’s income nearly quadrupled, while staff doubled to more than 1,000 personnel. Before Astreya, Miller was CEO of Everest Software, an enterprise software firm with over 3,000 customers worldwide, where he helped drive product innovation and an enhanced go-to-market strategy until the company’s successful exit to Versata. Miller was previously the CEO of InfoData, where he helped develop and implement new business strategies, restoring the company to profitability and achieving 11 consecutive quarters of growth. Miller currently serves on the boards of private firms in the drone, AI, and SaaS markets, and he holds an MBA from George Washington University.

Opinion: This looks like old stock, new rebranding story type of play. I’d have to see some real results before I buy into this being an AI company.

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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 with any stock market experience 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 of 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, we analyze unusual patterns with selling, 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 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.

This blog is solely for educational purposes and the author’s own amusement.  Think of the blog as part of my personal investment journal that I am willing to share with the DIY investor.  There are also many parts that I am not willing to share if I think it could influence trading action or be detrimental to the Fund’s partners. We could be long, short, or have no position at all in any of the stocks mentioned and express no written or implied obligation to disclose any of that.

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,