Markets are always a choice between assets, bonds, stocks, gold, and now Bitcoin. Momentum and perception are key market factors, and have always been that way.
Insider buying is now on everyone’s radar, and the small investor is paying attention. The Trump administration is even more opaque than ever, and solar energy may have to take a back seat to fossil fuels. But not this week, as Sunova insiders scored a 37% paper profit, Wolfspeed scored ~24% returns, Ameresco, and even Enphase rebounded 7%.
Name: Badrinarayanan Kothandaraman
Position: President & CEO
Transaction Date: 2024-11-19 Shares Bought: 5,000 Average Price Paid: $61.75 Cost: $308,728
Company: Enphase Energy Inc. (ENPH)
Enphase Energy Inc. is a global energy technology firm that was launched in March 2006. The company provides sophisticated, user-friendly solutions that integrate solar generating, storage, and communication on a single platform. The company’s intelligent microinverters are compatible with practically any solar panel on the market, and when combined with smart technology, they constitute one of the industry’s best-performing clean energy systems. Today, the company operates with almost every solar panel available, it constitutes one of the industry’s best-performing clean energy systems. For the first time in the history of the centuries-old system, people can be compensated for the clean energy they generate and share with their communities, thereby contributing to the development of a new energy future based on solar power. Clean, free, and abundant.
Badri joined Enphase in April 2017 as chief operating officer before being named president and CEO in September 2017. He joins Enphase with over 21 years of product development and general management expertise in the semiconductor sector. Badri started his career at Cypress Semiconductor in 1995, working in process technology research and chip design before becoming vice president of the Asynchronous SRAM Business in 2008. He was named executive vice president of Cypress’s Data Communications Division in 2011 and spent five years developing the USB 3.0, USB-C, and Internet of Things businesses. Badri also worked as the executive director of Cypress Semiconductor Technology India Private Limited from 2012 until 2016. Badri obtained his BTech from IIT Madras and his M.S. in materials science from the University of California, Berkeley. He also completed the Stanford Executive Program in 2008 and has eight US patents.
Opinion: Hope remains steadfast for the once soaring Enphase Energy. Liberty Energy, helmed by Energy Secretary nominee Wight, surged last week as the potential for expanded oil and gas drilling invigorated its shares. This week, solar luminaries such as Sunnova and Enphase experienced a fleeting surge in prominence.
Name: Frank H Laukien
Position: President & CEO 10% Owner
Transaction Date: 2024-11-18 Shares Bought: 100,000 Average Price Paid: $50.14 Cost: $5,014,069
Company: Bruker Corp. (BRKR)
Bruker Corp. is a researcher, manufacturer, and distributor of high-performance scientific instruments, as well as analytical and diagnostic solutions, which allow customers to investigate life and materials at the microscopic, molecular, and cellular levels. Many of the products are used to detect, quantify, and display the structural properties of chemical, biological, and industrial materials. The products and solutions meet the continually changing requirements of a wide range of customers in life science research, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, applied markets, cell biology, clinical research, microbiology, in-vitro diagnostics, nanotechnology, and materials science research. The technology platforms include magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry, gas and liquid chromatography, triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, X-ray, spark-optical emission spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, stylus and optical metrology technology, fluorescence optical microscopy, infrared and Raman.
Dr. Frank H. Laukien has been the Chairman, President, and CEO of Bruker Corporation since February 1991, and he is the largest stockholder. Dr. Laukien also serves as a director of many Bruker subsidiaries, none of which are publicly traded firms. Dr. Laukien was a director of ALDA for numerous years, including Chairman from 2002 to 2003. Dr. Laukien has a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from MIT and a Ph.D. in chemical physics from Harvard. Dr. Laukien served on the Dean’s Advisory Committee at the MIT School of Science until 2014, and as a Trustee of the Rivers School in Weston, Massachusetts, until 2013. In May 2017, Dr. Laukien was elected a senator of Acatech.
Opinion: In November 2024, Bruker announced its third-quarter financial results, highlighting double-digit year-over-year revenue growth at constant exchange rates. The company also updated its full-year 2024 guidance, projecting revenues between $3.34 billion and $3.37 billion, implying organic revenue growth of 3% to 4%. I’d jump all over this name except it is already up 13% for the week.
Name: Martin D Madaus
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-11-19 Shares Bought: 4,940 Average Price Paid: $40.77 Cost: $201,404
Company: Azenta Inc. (AZTA)
Name: William L Cornog
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-11-18 Shares Bought: 12,500 Average Price Paid: $39.60 Cost: $495,000
Company: Azenta Inc. (AZTA)
Name: John Marotta
Position: President and CEO
Transaction Date: 2024-11-18 Shares Bought: 13,967 Average Price Paid: $39.59 Cost: $552,904
Company: Azenta Inc. (AZTA)
Azenta Inc. is a global leader in biological and chemical compound sample discovery and management solutions for the life science industry. The company entered the life sciences sector in 2011, leveraging the in-house precision automation and cryogenics skills, which the company already used in the semiconductor manufacturing market. As a result, the company developed automated ultra-cold storage solutions. Since then, the company has grown its life sciences offerings through internal investments and acquisitions. The company now provides sample management, automated storage, and genomic services expertise to customers from research and clinical development to commercialization, allowing them to bring significant medications to market faster.
Martin Madau joined Azenta Inc. in January 2024. An experienced public company CEO who has spent his career in diagnostics and life science tools, both as an executive and a board member, he brings valuable operational insight and industry expertise to the Azenta Board. Dr. Madaus has a proven track record of creating shareholder value in both public and private life science companies. He has notable experience in strategy, mergers, acquisitions, and commercial transformations, having served as Chairman, Dr. Madaus previously served as Chairman and CEO at Other-Clinical Diagnostics and, before that, served as President.
William L. Cornog joined Azenta Inc. in April 2024. Apart from spearheading Capstone, Mr. Cornog served as the chair of KKR’s Infrastructure, Impact & Technology Growth, Americas, Europe, and Asia portfolio management committees. He was also a member of the Investment & Distribution and Valuation Committees. Mr. Cornog is now the Chairman of the Audit and Conflicts Committees at Brightview Holdings Inc. and LiveWire, where he is also a board member.
Mr. Marotta began serving as President and CEO of Azenta Life Sciences in September 2024. He has 20 years of experience running multinational companies in life sciences, medical devices, and diagnostics. Before joining the company, Mr. Marotta’s career began in sales leadership positions for medicines and medical devices, where he has consistently achieved large value-creating transactions, operational efficiencies, and organic revenue growth. Sales leadership positions for pharmaceuticals and medical device offerings were where Mr. Marotta started his career. Mr. Marotta earned his BS from the University of Dayton and his MBA from the University of Denver’s Daniels School.
Opinion: Azenta has had a tough year. According to ChatGPT in November 2024, Azenta announced plans to sell its B Medical Systems unit to streamline its portfolio. This strategic move, along with a 4% revenue growth in core segments, positively influenced the stock price. Azenta had a short interest of 4.34 million shares, representing 9.08% of the float. This indicates a moderate level of bearish sentiment among investors. Recent pin action, seems like this was part of the RFK Trump broader sell-off trade. Several insiders bought into this, reversing the psychology for a quick 14% paper profit. It pays to be a contrarian when you have insiders at your back and a moderate short interest.
Name: Joseph W. Sutton
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-11-15 Shares Bought: 15,000 Average Price Paid: $26.22 Cost: $393,300
Company: Ameresco Inc. (AMRC)
Ameresco is a prominent clean technology integrator, as well as a developer, owner, and operator of renewable energy assets. The diverse portfolio comprises energy efficiency measures, infrastructure enhancements, asset sustainability, and renewable energy solutions. The key products include the development, design, financing arrangement, building, and installation of solutions that provide measurable cost and energy savings while improving a facility’s operations, energy security, infrastructure, and resiliency. These options span from upgrading a facility’s energy infrastructure to developing, building, and operating renewable energy plants. As a trusted sustainability partner, the company continually looks for methods to help customers minimize their overall carbon footprint and environmental effects.
Mr. Sutton has been a director since 2002. Mr. Sutton has served as manager of Sutton Ventures Group, LLC, an energy investment firm he formed, since 2000. He founded and has led Consolidated Asset Management Services, or CAMS, since 2007, which provides asset management, operation and maintenance, information technology, budgeting, contract management, and development services to power plant ventures, oil and gas companies, renewable energy companies, and other energy businesses. From 1992 to November 2000, Mr. Sutton worked for Enron Corporation, an energy corporation, where he most recently served as vice chairman and CEO of Enron International.
Opinion: Another stock impacted by the Trump trade and the threat to IRA tax credits and fundings. This is a name that has barely moved so I’d pick some up Monday.
Name: Michael Doogue
Position: SVP, CTO
Transaction Date: 2024-11-18 Shares Bought: 15,000 Average Price Paid: $19.00 Cost: $285,000
Company: Allegro Microsystem Inc. (ALGM)
Allegro Microsystem Inc. is a global leader in the design, development, fabless manufacturing, and marketing of sensor integrated circuits (“ICs”) and application-specific analog power ICs that enable the most critical developing technologies in the automotive and industrial markets. The company is the world’s leading supplier of magnetic sensor IC solutions in terms of market share. The products are essential to automotive and industrial electronic systems. In contrast, the power ICs include motor drivers that can withstand high temperatures and voltages, power management ICs, light-emitting diode (“LED”) driver ICs, and isolated gate drivers.
Michael Doogue, serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer since September 2022. He joined Allegro in 1998 as a Design Engineer, assisting in the development of Allegro’s revolutionary speed and current sensor integrated circuits. Michael has enabled Allegro’s disruptive technologies since joining, serving as Design Manager, Director of Strategic Marketing, Business Unit Director of Linear and Current Sensors, Vice President of Advanced Sensor Technologies, and Senior Vice President of Technology and Products. Michael got a B.A. in Physics from Colby College, a B.E. in Electrical Engineering from Dartmouth, and finished the Stanford University Graduate Business School’s SEP program.
Opinion: Over the past five years, Allegro has demonstrated consistent revenue growth. In the fiscal year ending March 29, 2024, the company reported annual revenue of $1.05 billion, reflecting a 7.78% increase from the previous year. Stock Analysis However, in the quarter ending September 27, 2024, Allegro’s revenue was $187.39 million, a decrease of 31.98% compared to the same quarter in the previous year.
Name: Erik D. Ragatz
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-11-15 Shares Bought: 1,10,000 Average Price Paid: $18.25 Cost: $2,007,500
Company: Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (GO)
Grocery Outlet is a fast-growing, extreme discount retailer that distributes quality, name-brand consumables, and fresh products through a network of independently run stores. As of December 30, 2023, they have 468 locations across California, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Nevada, Maryland, New Jersey, and Ohio. The headquarters are in Emeryville, California. Each of the businesses offers a fascinating, treasure hunt-style shopping experience in a small-box structure that is easy to navigate. A constantly changing range of “WOW!” bargains, reinforced by everyday basic products, piques client interest and encourages frequent visits from budget-conscious buyers. The company’s flexible purchasing strategy allows it to offer quality, name-brand opportunistic products at prices that are frequently 40% to 70% cheaper than those of traditional stores.
Erik D. Ragatz was Grocery Outlet Holding Corp Chairman of the Board from October 2014 until December 2022, and he is now the Lead Independent Director. Mr. Ragatz has substantial strategic, financial, and business development experience, as well as knowledge of the proper operation and responsibilities of corporate boards of directors, which he gained while serving on the boards of H&F’s portfolio companies. He formerly served as a Partner at Hellman & Friedman from 2008 to early 2023, where he oversaw the firm’s efforts to invest in the consumer, retail, and industrial sectors. He now serves as Chairman and a member of Snap One Holdings Corp Board of Directors. He also sits on various boards and committees for private H&F portfolio companies.
Opinion: Large informed insider buy in a boring industry. Buy some, put it away and check on it next year. It will probably double from this level.
Name: Jon Faiz Kayyem
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-11-19 Shares Bought: 107,186 Average Price Paid: $14.21 Cost: $1,523,620
Company: Inhibrx Biosciences Inc. (INBX)
Inhibrx Biosciences, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm that develops biologic therapies for people 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 aden The corporation was founded in 2024 and is headquartered in La Jolla, Calif.
Ms. Manhard has been a member of the Board since June 2020. Ms. Manhard is a biopharmaceutical professional with over 25 years’ of expertise in drug development, regulatory affairs, quality assurance, pharmacovigilance, and pharmaceutical operations. Ms. Manhard is now a member of the boards of Toragen, Inc. and Shoreline Biosciences, and she formerly served on the boards of Heron Therapeutics, Inc. Ms. Manhard serves on the Fleet Science Center board of trustees and the University of Florida College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Dean’s Leadership Council. She earned a B.S. in zoology and a B.A. in French from the University of Florida.
Opinion:
Name: James R Meyer
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-11-14 Shares Bought: 23,400 Average Price Paid: $10.74 Cost: $251,316
Company: FreightCar America Inc. (RAIL)
FreightCar America, Inc. is a multifaceted producer of railcars and railcar components. The company designs and builds a wide range of railcar types, including box cars, open top hoppers, covered hoppers, gondolas, and intermodal and non-intermodal flat cars, for transporting bulk commodities and containerized freight products, mostly in North America. Since 1901, FreightCar America Inc. and our forebears have been producing railcars. As part of the ongoing efforts to broaden the product line, The Company has unveiled many new or redesigned railcar models in recent years.
James R Meyer has served as the CEO and a member of the Board of Directors for FreightCar America, since July 2017. James oversees the company’s strategy and progress as it plans for the next hundred years. James was appointed Chairman of the Board at Commercial Specialty Truck Holdings, LLC, a commercial truck manufacturer. Before that, he was the Chief Operating Officer of REV Group. He earned an MBA from the University of Michigan, an MS in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a BS in Engineering from the University of Michigan.
Opinion: Looks like a price opportunistic CEO purchase. In November 2024, FreightCar America reported strong third-quarter results, with an 83% increase in revenue year-over-year. The company also raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance, reflecting confidence in sustained growth.
These positive developments have likely contributed to favorable stock performance.
Name: Henry Schuck
Position: Chief Executive Officer
Transaction Date: 2024-11-15 Shares Bought: 492,500 Average Price Paid: $10.25 Cost: $5,049,750
Company: ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. (ZI)
ZoomInfo Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is based in Vancouver, Washington. ZoomInfo Technologies Inc., along with its subsidiaries, offers a go-to-market information and engagement platform to sales and marketing teams in the United States and abroad. The company’s cloud-based platform provides information on organizations and professionals to assist users in identifying target customers and decision-makers, obtaining continuously updated predictive lead and company scoring, monitoring buying signals and other target company attributes, crafting messages, engaging with automated sales tools, and tracking progress through the deal cycle. The company serves corporations, mid-market firms, and small businesses in a variety of industries, such as software, business services, manufacturing, telecommunications, financial services, media and internet, transportation, education, hospitality, and real estate.
Henry Schuck has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of ZoomInfo since founding it in 2007. Henry led ZoomInfo, which became the first technology business to go public during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has handled 13 acquisitions, including the company’s 2019 acquisition of Zoom Information. Before starting ZoomInfo, Henry was VP of Research & Marketing at iProfile, a sales intelligence firm specializing in the IT market. Henry is a cum laude with an honors graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, with a B.S. in Business Administration and a second B.S. in Hospitality Administration, as well as a J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. Henry was chosen to Fortune Magazine’s “40 Under 40” Class of 2020 list.
Opinion: ZoomInfo lowered its full-year sales forecast in August 2024, and its stock price has been declining ever since. The company also announced changes in its CFO and board. Despite these negative factors, an unusually large insider buy has not changed the narrative. Is it time to zoom into ZoomInfo?
Name: Darren R Jackson
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-11-20 Shares Bought: 36,975 Average Price Paid: $6.76 Cost: $249,999
Company: Wolfspeed Inc. (WOLF)
Name: Thomas H Werner
Position: Chairman of the Board
Transaction Date: 2024-11-20 Shares Bought: 37,500 Average Price Paid: $6.53 Cost: $244,785
Company: Wolfspeed Inc. (WOLF)
Name: Stacy J Smith
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-11-20 Shares Bought: 30,376 Average Price Paid: $6.43 Cost: $195,372
Company: Wolfspeed Inc. (WOLF)
Name: Duy Loan T Le
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-11-21 Shares Bought: 20,000 Average Price Paid: $6.34 Cost: $126,800
Company: Wolfspeed Inc. (WOLF)
Wolfspeed, Inc. is a wide bandgap semiconductor inventor that specializes in silicon carbide materials and power applications. The product lines include power devices, silicon carbide, and gallium nitride materials. The products are designed for a variety of applications, including electric vehicles, quick charging, and renewable energy and storage. Company materials and power gadgets find use in electric vehicles, motor drives, power supplies, solar, and transportation applications. The company materials are also employed in military communications, radar, satellite, and telecommunications systems.
Mr. Jackson has been a member of the Board of Directors for Wolfspeed Inc. since May 2016, and he served as Chairman of the Board of the Company from October 2018 to October 2023. He was on the Board of Directors of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. from July 2004 to January 2016, and as CEO from January 2008 to January 2016. Jackson also served as President of Advance Auto Parts from January 2008 to January 2009, and again from January 2012 to April 2013. Before this, Mr. Jackson served in numerous executive positions with Best Buy Co., Inc., a specialty retailer of consumer electronics, office supplies, appliances, and software, eventually serving from July 2007 to December 2007 as Executive Vice President of Customer Operations. Mr. Jackson also served as a director of Fastenal Company, which offers industrial and construction products, from July 2012 to April 2020.
Mr. Werner has been a member of the Board of Directors for Wolfspeed Inc. since March 2006, and he has served as the Company’s Chairman since October 2023. He has been the Executive Chairman of SunPower Corporation, a publicly traded marketer of high-efficiency solar cells and solar panels, since February 2024, and the company’s Principal Executive Officer from February 2024 to August 2024. SunPower filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code on August 5, 2024, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Mr. Werner previously served as Sunpower’s Chairman of the Board of Directors from June 2010 to November 2021, as well as its CEO from June 2003 to April 2021. Before joining SunPower, he was CEO of Silicon Light Machines Corporation, an optical solutions subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, from July 2001 to June 2003. Mr. Werner previously served as Vice President and General Manager of 3Com Corporation’s Business Connectivity Group, which provides network solutions.
Mr. Smith has served on the Board of Directors since January 2023. He has been the Executive Chairman of Kioxia Corporation, a manufacturer of flash memory and solid state drives, since October 2018, and the non-executive chair and member of the board of directors of Autodesk, Inc. since June 2018 and November 2011, respectively. Mr. Smith previously served as Group President of Sales, Manufacturing, and Operations at Intel Corporation from February 2017 to January 2018; Executive Vice President of manufacturing, Operations, and Sales from October 2016 to February 2017; Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer from November 2012 to October 2016; Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer from January 2010 to November 2012.
Duy-Loan T. Le has been a member of the Board of Directors of Wolfspeed Inc. since October 2018. She retired from Texas Instruments Inc. in February 2015, having most recently held the position of Senior Fellow since 2002. Throughout her 33-year tenure at Texas Instruments, Ms. Le held various leadership positions, including Advanced Technology Ramp Manager for the Embedded Processing Division and Global Project Manager for Memory Division. Ms. Le’s qualifications for the position of director include extensive experience in various aspects of semiconductor design and manufacturing at Texas Instruments, such as operations, research and development, product launch, customer interfacing, foundry partnership, and supply chain management. She also has 20 years of experience on public firm boards of directors.
Opinion: Giant 34% short interest ratio probably caused a classic short squeeze on these coordinated insider buys after Roth analyst Craig Irwin keeps a Buy rating and $20 price target on Wolfspeed after hosting meetings with its management team. The firm adds that it remains positive on Wolfspeed as a “strategically important” U.S. leader in SiC semiconductor materials.
Name: Michael Kim
Position: SVP, Chief Information Officer
Transaction Date: 2024-11-15 Shares Bought: 40,000 Average Price Paid: $6.24 Cost: $249,588
Company: MultiPlan Corp. (MPLN)
MultiPlan is a market-leading provider of data analytics and technology-enabled solutions that aim to make healthcare more affordable, efficient, and equitable in the United States. The company provides out-of-network cost management, payment, and revenue integrity, data and decision science, business-to-business healthcare payments, and other services to healthcare payers, which are primarily health insurers and their administrative-services-only platforms, self-insured employers, federal and state government-sponsored health plans, and other health plan sponsors.
Michael Kim has served as Chief Information Officer since December 2013 and manages MultiPlan’s Information Technology group, which includes infrastructure, architecture, application development, project management, and testing. Before joining MultiPlan, he was Chief Administrative Officer at Torus Insurance, where he oversaw all technology and operations responsibilities. He also spent six years with Hartford Property and Casualty, where he held numerous technological leadership positions handling legacy and developing systems technologies, including three years as CTO. Before joining The Hartford, Mr. Kim was the CEO of a software startup that was sold to a CRM software company in 2004. He graduated from Yale University.
Opinion:
Name: Mohamed Akbar
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-11-15 Shares Bought: 104,717 Average Price Paid: $3.72 Cost: $389,729
Transaction Date: 2024-11-19 Shares Bought: 50,000 Average Price Paid: $3.56 Cost: $177,960
Company: Sunnova Energy International Inc. (NOVA)
Name: Corbin J Robertson III
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-11-19 Shares Bought: 35,000 Average Price Paid: $3.56 Cost: $124,499
Company: Sunnova Energy International Inc. (NOVA)
Sunnova Energy International Inc. is an industry-leading energy services company dedicated to making sustainable energy more accessible, dependable, and affordable for individuals and businesses, with over 419,000 clients in 45 states and territories across the United States. To fulfill the purpose of enabling energy independence, the company uses the adaptive energy platform to give a better energy service at a lower cost. The company is altering the traditional energy landscape and the way customers generate and consume electricity in the twenty-first century with energy service products. Furthermore, the company expects that the renewable energy sector in which it operates, as well as overall investment in climate solutions, will continue to expand as the impact of climate change grows.
Akbar was appointed as the director of Sunnova’s board in December 2020. Mr. Mohamed is an accomplished executive with over 20 years of expertise in retail and wireless technology. He has been the President of Prime Communications, the largest AT&T-authorized store in the United States since 2010. Mr. Mohamed is in charge of sales leadership and retail distribution, as well as Prime’s expansion strategy, which includes many recent big acquisitions that have effectively increased the footprint from 700 locations in 2018 to over 2,000 by December 1st, 2021. Mr. Mohamed worked as an investment professional at Hicks Muse, a private equity firm in Dallas, and as a mergers and acquisitions specialist at Goldman Sachs, a global investment bank in New York. Mr. Mohamed has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting.
Corbin J. Robertson has been appointed an independent director to the Board of Directors, beginning September 2024. He has substantial experience in energy and private equity. Mr. Robertson has been the founder and managing partner of CIII Capital Management LLC, a private multi-industry investment firm, since August 2000. He has also been the Chief Executive Officer of the General Partner of Western Pocahontas Properties Limited Partnership, a land firm holding minerals and timberlands in many states, since May 2008. He has sat on the Board of Directors of Western Pocahontas since October 2012.
Opinion:
Name: Jeffrey W Kip
Position: CEO
Transaction Date: 2024-11-15 Shares Bought: 250,000 Average Price Paid: $1.72 Cost: $430,000
Company: Angi Inc. (ANGI)
Angi Inc. connects quality home service experts with consumers in over 500 distinct categories, including repair and remodeling, cleaning, and gardening. Furthermore, during the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023, consumers contacted at least one of the firms to obtain a service expert for about 23 million projects. Angi Inc. connects home service professionals with customers in the United States and abroad. It gives consumers information and resources to help them identify local, pre-screened, and customer-rated service experts and connects them with independently established home service professionals.
Jeffrey W. Kip has been the Chief Executive Officer of Angi since April 2024. Mr. Kip previously served as President of Angi from November 2023 until April 2024. As President, Mr. Kip was responsible for Angi’s finances, sales, marketing, and human resources. He has also served as CEO of HomeAdvisor International since April 2016. Mr. Kip served as IAC’s Chief Financial Officer from March 2012 to April 2016. Before coming to IAC, Mr. Kip was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Panera Bread Company, a national bakery-café concept in the United States and Canada, from May 2006 until March 2012. Mr. Kip earned a BA in History from Williams College and an MBA from Duke University.
Opinion: Angi is undergoing some kind of reorg. KeyBanc analyst Justin Patterson lowered the firm’s price target on Angi Inc. to $2 from $3 to reflect a longer turnaround. The firm keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. CEO purchase spiked a 14% move in price in this overheated speculative market.
Name: Charles K.Cohn
Position: Chief Executive Officer 10% Owner
Transaction Date: 2024-11-18 Shares Bought: 796,096 Average Price Paid: $0.98 Cost: $780,174
Company: Nerdy Inc. (NRDY)
Nerdy Inc. runs a platform for live online learning. The company’s objective is to use technology to transform people’s learning experiences. The purpose-built proprietary platform uses technology, including artificial intelligence, to connect students, users, parents, guardians, and buyers of all ages to tutors, instructors, subject matter experts, educators, and other professionals, delivering superior value on both sides of the network. The complete learning destination offers learning experiences in a variety of disciplines and formats, such as one-on-one instruction, small group tutoring, big format seminars, tutor chat, essay revision, adaptive exams, and self-study tools. The flagship company, Varsity Tutors LLC, is one of the country’s largest venues for live online tutoring and classes.
Charles K. Cohn established Nerdy, Inc., Live Learning Technologies LLC, and Varsity Tutors LLC. He is the Chairman, President, and CEO of Nerdy, Inc., as well as the Chairman and CEO of Live Learning Technologies LLC and the CEO and Director of Varsity Tutors LLC. Mr. Cohn is also the Director-Leadership Council of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Centre. Mr. Cohn formerly worked as principal of global Sourcing for Harbour Group Industries, Inc., Principal at A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc., Principal at Wachovia Bank NA (Charlotte, North Carolina), and Investment Support Analyst at Ascension Ventures LLC. Charles K. Cohn earned an undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis.
Opinion: I did a fairly deep dive on this name but didn’t see that much reason to buy other than the speculative frenzy around insider buying and penny stocks. Nerdy is up an amazing 42% since the CEO and major shareholder Cohn purchase. I bet he wishes he could take some of this paper profit but he is subject to the “short swing rule” This Prohibits insiders from profiting from buying and selling (or selling and buying) the company’s stock within a six-month period. Any profits realized from such short-term transactions must be returned to the Company even if the insider did not use non-public information.
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This blog is solely for educational purposes and the author’s own amusement. IT IS NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE. 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.
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 as soon as practically possible. 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. When I have time, over the weekend, I’ll add some preliminary analysis to the Opinion at the end. Sometimes I won’t update this for a couple of weeks or more. A good way to use this blog is as I do, it’s a reference point and filing cabinet for various stocks with notable insider buying. It’s one of many tools I use. I regularly live on Microsoft Copilot now. I find the footnotes research very helpful in eliminating errors from AI hallucinations.
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,
