For now, the stock market seems to like the idea of a Trump presidency, as the Biden campaign and Democrats spiraled precariusly lower like a helicopter crash landing.
Name: Robert Holmes Swan
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-06-28 Shares Bought: 2,941 Average Price Paid: $77.02 Cost: $226,516
Company: NIKE Inc. (NKE)
Nike, Inc. was founded in 1964 and is based in Beaverton, Oregon. Nike, Inc. and its subsidiaries create, develop, market, and sell athletic footwear, clothes, equipment, accessories, and services worldwide. The company sells sports and casual footwear, clothes, and accessories under the Jumpman brand, as well as casual sneakers, apparel, and accessories under the Converse, Chuck Taylor, All-Star, One Star, Star Chevron, and Jack Purcell brand names. They also offer performance equipment and accessories under the NIKE brand, such as bags, sports balls, socks, eyewear, clocks, digital devices, bats, gloves, protective equipment, and other sports equipment, as well as plastic products to different manufacturers. Furthermore, the company markets apparel with licensed college and professional team and league logos sells sports apparel, and licenses unaffiliated parties to manufacture and sell apparel, digital devices, applications, and other sports-related equipment under NIKE-owned trademarks.
Robert Holmes Swan was appointed to the NIKE Inc. board of directors on September 21, 2022. He also served on the boards of First Global Associates LLC, eBay Inc., Skype Technologies SA, and Skype SARL. In his previous career, he occupied the positions of Chief Executive Officer & Director at Intel Corp., Chief Executive, Operating & Financial Officer at The Webvan Group, Inc., Chief Financial Officer at TRW, Inc., Chief Financial Officer & Executive Vice President at Northrop Grumman Space & Mission Systems Corp., Chief Financial Officer & Executive Vice President for Electronic Data Systems Corp., and Chief Financial Officer & Vice President-Finance at GE Lighting Solutions LLC. Robert Holmes Swan earned an undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and an MBA from the State University of New York at Binghamton.
Opinion: Nike fell nearly 20% and suffered six analysts’ downgrades on weak earnings and its forecast. This was probably a long time in the making and is unlikely to turn around quickly, even with the Summer Olympics this year. Transitioning from a growth stock to a value stock is a painful process. The first indicator of the change is insider buying, but a nominal buy like this from a director is not enough.
Name: Darin Harper
Position: Chief Financial Officer
Transaction Date: 2023-07-03 Shares Bought: 13,578 Average Price Paid: $38.77 Cost: $526,420
Company: Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc. (PLAY)
Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. was formed in 1982 and is based in Coppell, Texas. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. owns and operates entertainment and dining facilities for adults and families throughout North America. Their establishments provide a menu of entrées and appetizers, as well as a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as a variety of entertainment activities based on playing games and watching live sports and other broadcast events. The company operates its venues under the Dave & Buster’s and Main Event brands.
Darin Harper joined Dave & Buster’s in June 2024, bringing over 25 years of finance experience in both the public and private sectors, working for multisite consumer, retail, and entertainment organizations. He most recently served as CFO for World Choice Investments, LLC, a major operator of large themed family entertainment sites. Darin was previously the EVP and Chief Financial Officer of Main Event Entertainment, Inc. from March 2017 until its acquisition by Dave & Buster in June 2022, where he oversaw all finance, accounting, legal, risk, and audit responsibilities. During his time there, Darin helped guide the company through considerable expansion, operating effectively while setting the company for greater data-driven analytics aimed at improving the guest experience and profitability. In addition to this position, from June 2018 to June 2022, he was Group CFO for Main Event’s parent business, Ardent Leisure, which is situated in Sydney, Australia.
Opinion: One of our favorite insider buys is the Chief Financial Officer. They are generally not the highest-paid executive like the CEO, but they have their finger on the pulse of the company’s financial health. Darin Harper just got the job so that I wouldn’t assign to much import to this.
Name: James Healy
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-07-01 Shares Bought: 44,032 Average Price Paid: $24.52 Cost: $1,079,575
Company: Rapport Therapeutics Inc. (RAPP)
Rapport Therapeutics, Inc. was established in 2022 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts. Rapport Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical business, specializes in the research and development of small molecule therapies for patients suffering from central nervous system illnesses. Their principal product candidate is receptor-associated protein (RAP)-219, an experimental small chemical designed to block TARPy8-containing AMPARs with picomolar affinity in the treatment of focal epilepsy and other CNS illnesses such as peripheral neuropathic pain and bipolar disorder. The company also develops RAP-199, a TARPy8 targeted drug with distinct chemical and pharmacokinetic features, as well as nicotinic acetylcholine receptor programs, such as a6 nAChR to treat chronic pain and a9a10 nAChR to treat hearing problems.
James Healy joined Rapport Therapeutics Inc.’s board of directors on August 23, 2023. Jim is a Managing Partner at Sofinnova Investments with over 23 years of experience investing in novel cures. At Sofinnova, twenty-two of his ventures have gone public, with twelve acquired. Before joining Sofinnova, Jim worked for Bayer and Sanderling. He has garnered numerous accolades over his career, including IBF Innovator, Xconomy’s Young, and Proven Biotech VC, and being named one of Fortune’s Top Life Science Investors. Jim is an immunologist by training and now serves on the boards of ArriVent, Atsena, Bolt, Karuna, Natera, and Y-mAbs. He formerly served on the boards of UC Berkeley’s Executive Committee, the National Venture Capital Association, and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization. Jim earned his M.D. and Ph.D. at Stanford University.
Opinion: Healy is an outstanding insider with an envious record. It’s not often you see insiders buying shortly after the IPO
Name: Stellantis N.V. / FCA US LLC / FCA North America Holdings LLC / FCA Foreign Sales Holdco LTD. / SFS UK 1 LTD.
Position: 10% Owner
Transaction Date: 2024-07-01 Shares Bought: 17,401,153 Average Price Paid: $3.16 Cost: $54,999,824
Company: Archer Aviation Inc. (ACHR)
Archer Aviation Inc. designs and produces electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for use in urban air mobility systems. The company’s objective is to open up the skies, allowing individuals to reconsider how they travel and spend time. Their eVTOL planes are built to be safe, durable, and silent. Midnight’s production aircraft, which will be available in November 2022, is built on a unique 12-tilt-6 configuration. This means that it has 12 propellers attached to 6 booms on a fixed wing, with all 12 propellers providing vertical lift during takeoff and landing, and the forward six propellers tilting forward to cruise position to provide propulsion during forward flight, while the wing provides aerodynamic lift like a traditional airplane. Midnight can transport four passengers and a pilot for up to 100 miles at speeds of up to 150 mph, although it is ideally suited for back-to-back short-distance excursions of roughly 20 miles, with a recharge time of about 10 minutes between journeys.
Stellantis is a collection of 14 antique vehicle companies and two mobility arms dedicated to more than just transportation: moving people and forging connections. Stellantis will work with Archer to develop the company’s previously announced production facility in Covington, Georgia, where the Midnight aircraft will be built in 2024. Midnight’s 100-mile range makes it suitable for two short-distance trips of around 20 miles each, with a 10-minute charge in between. This unique collaboration in urban air transportation will use each company’s assets and expertise to bring the Midnight aircraft to market. Archer will contribute a world-class team of eVTOL, electric powertrain, and certification experts to the collaboration, while Stellantis will give new manufacturing technologies and expertise, experienced staff, and financial resources.
FCA US LLC (FCA US), formerly Chrysler Group LLC, designs, engineers, produces, distributes, and sells automobiles. Dodge, Jeep, Fiat, Mopar, Lancia, Chrysler, Ram, Abarth, and Alfa Romeo are the brand names for passenger cars, minivans, sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, and commercial vehicles sold by the corporation. In addition, the company offers retail and dealer financing, leasing, rental, and aftermarket services. It primarily markets its products in North America, specifically the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbea. The company is a subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. FCA US is situated in Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States.
FCA NORTH AMERICA HOLDINGS LLC is a thriving firm in the United States of America. It is recognized by the legal entity identifier (LEI). The LEI is a one-of-a-kind code that identifies legal entities engaging in worldwide financial transactions. FCA NORTH AMERICA HOLDINGS LLC is classed as general and has the legal form code HZEH. The entity’s legal address is C/O THE CORPORATION TRUST COMPANY, 19801 WILMINGTON, Delaware, US; however, the headquarters address is C/O THE CORPORATION COMPANY, 48178 South Lyon, Delaware, US. The firm was founded on May 13, 2009, and was initially registered with an LEI on August 10, 2017, which is still valid and was last updated on June 1, 2023.
SFS UK 1 Ltd is an active company that was established on November 12, 2021, and has its registered office in Coventry, West Midlands. SFS UK 1 Ltd has been operating for two years. The most recent confirmation declaration, dated November 11, 2023, has two active directors and one active secretary.
Opinion: I’m looking forward to the day that Archer will dot the skies of major cities, shuttling urban transport into the future. For now, though, I’m content at nibling on some shares.
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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,
