I’d like to say I saw something last week that was sexy and showed a lot of potential. Maybe I’m missing it and its staring right at you but you have to rely on more than insider buying to validate your purchase. I said that to myself and despite that I bought the management line that Dave and Busters didn’t need revenue growth but could rely on more efficient operations. Then the CEO quits two months later for a better job? Class action attorneys, you can include me on your mailer.
Market momentum stalled last week. The 10-year Treasury sold off; interest rates rose. The S&P 500 declined by approximately 0.7% for the week. The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP): RSP, which provides equal-weighted exposure to the S&P 500, experienced a decrease of about 0.35% over the week., and the Russell 2000, representing small-cap stocks, fell by 2.6% during the week. You wouldn’t think much from these numbers but they reflect a period of volatility in the markets, with small-cap stocks underperforming relative to large-cap counterparts. What gives market participants confidence is to see insiders buying. Instead, the opposite is happening.
Name: Henry A Fernandez
Position: Chairman and CEO
Transaction Date: 2024-12-05 Shares Bought: 2,900 Average Price Paid: $612.80 Cost: $1,777,119
Company: MSCI Inc. (MSCI)
MSCI Inc. is a top provider of crucial decision-support tools and solutions to the worldwide investment community. The mission-critical solutions assist investors in overcoming the obstacles of a changing financial landscape and making better investment decisions. Leveraging the knowledge of the global investing process and the experience in research, data, and technology, the company enables customers to understand and analyze important risk and return drivers, allowing them to confidently and effectively design more effective portfolios.
Henry A. Fernandez has been a director and Chairman of the Board since 2007 and the CEO since 1998. Before leading MSCI’s transition to become a fully independent, publicly traded company in 2007, he was a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley, where he worked on emerging markets product strategy, equity derivative sales and trading, mergers and acquisitions, global corporate finance, and mortgage finance for US financial institutions. Mr. Fernandez has substantial expertise and leadership in the financial services industry, as well as a thorough understanding of MSCI and its operations. As CEO of MSCI, he brings significant senior leadership and direct expertise and experience with the company’s culture, business development, strategy, growth, and long-term performance.
Opinion: MSCI’s all time high was in September 2021. I’m not sure why I would want to buy a fully priced premium company so rich in valuation that it has taken 3 years to get to within spitting distance of its lifetime high. The CEO made a substantial open market purchase. Ignoring this is usually a mistake.
Name: Richard Beckwitt
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-12-11 Shares Bought: 2,500 Average Price Paid: $193.69 Cost: $484,231
Company: Ferguson Enterprises Inc. (FERG)
Ferguson is the largest value-added distributor in North America, supplying specialist professionals in both residential and non-residential construction. The company assists customers in making difficult projects simple, successful, and sustainable by providing expertise and a diverse range of products and services such as plumbing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, appliances, and lighting, as well as pipes, valves, and fittings, water and wastewater solutions, and more. The company sells through a shared network of distribution facilities, branches, counter service and specialist sales representatives, showroom consultants, and e-commerce outlets.
Mr. Beckwitt was appointed Non-Employee Director in June 2024. Mr. Beckwitt formerly served as Lennar Corporation’s co-CEO and co-President from November 2020 until his retirement in September 2023. From 1993 to March 2000, he served as D.R. Horton’s president, among other managerial responsibilities. From March 2000 to April 2003, Mr. Beckwitt owned and operated EVP Capital, L.P., the general partner of D.R. Horton’s Encore Venture Partners, a venture capital firm. From 1986 to 1993, Mr. Beckwitt worked in Lehman Brothers’ mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance departments.
Opinion: A meaningful drop in interest rates should provide a lift to both residential and non residential construction. I find it hard to believe the Fed will be able to maintain its hawkish stance with Donald Trump brow beating them relentlessly.
Name: Ruddy Raymond B
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-12-12 Shares Bought: 3,490 Average Price Paid: $71.46 Cost: $249,395
Company: Maximus Inc. (MMS)
Name: John Haley J
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-12-12 Shares Bought: 3,490 Average Price Paid: $71.46 Cost: $250,442
Company: Maximus Inc. (MMS)
Maximus’ aim of Moving People Forward enables millions of people to access critical government services. The company is committed to strengthening communities and improving the lives of individuals that the company serves. They also display the ability to respond swiftly, ranging from digitally enabled contact center support services for natural disaster response to the rapid implementation of public health and safety programs, such as those implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. The organic expansion has been bolstered by smart acquisitions, which have extended contract scope and allowed to enter new markets.
Raymond B. Ruddy has been a director since 2004. Mr. Ruddy retired from Maximus in 2001. Before his retirement, Mr. Ruddy was Chairman of the Board of Directors from 1985 to 2001 and President of the Consulting Group from 1989 to 2000. Mr. Ruddy worked at Touche Ross & Co. from 1969 until joining, serving as Associate National Director of Consulting from 1982 to 1984 and Director of Management Consulting (Boston, Massachusetts office) from 1978 to 1983. Mr. Ruddy got his M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, as well as his B.S. in Economics from Holy Cross.
John J. Haley has been a director since 2020, having previously served from 2002 to 2019 and as Chair of the Board since 2021. Mr. Haley has been the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Willis Towers Watson since January 2016, when Willis Group Holdings Public Limited Company and Towers Watson & Co. merged to become the insurance broker and human resources and employee benefits consulting firm. From 2010 to January 2016, Mr. Haley was the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Towers Watson & Co. He previously served as President and CEO of Watson Wyatt Worldwide. He holds an A.B. in Mathematics from Rutgers College and received a fellowship to study at Yale’s University Graduate School of Mathematics.
Opinion: Maximus had a bad week capped off by the loss of a major Medicare contract. Is DOGE taking an axe to Government spending and Maximus by extension?
Name: David Sachs A
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-12-11 Shares Bought: 20,000 Average Price Paid: $50.73 Cost: $1,014,600
Company: Terex Corp (TEX)
Terex Corp. was founded in Delaware in October 1986 as Terex U.S.A., Inc. The corporation has undergone tremendous change, much of it has been accomplished historically through acquisitions and portfolio management through the disposal of non-core businesses and products. Terex is now a multinational manufacturer of material processing machinery and aerial work platforms. The company creates, manufactures, and supports devices used in maintenance, manufacturing, energy, recycling, mineral and material management, and construction applications. Certain Terex products and solutions enable customers to reduce their environmental impact, such as electric and hybrid offerings that provide quiet and emission-free performance, renewable energy products, and waste recovery products.
David A. Sachs founded Ares Management LP. He currently holds the position of Independent Non-Executive Chairman at Terex Corp., Chairman at Ares Dynamic Credit Allocation Fund, Inc., Chairman at CION Ares Diversified Credit Fund, Director at F+W Media, Inc., Director at Konecranes, Inc., Director at Nelson Education Ltd., Director at CION Ares Management LLC, Partner at Ares Management LLC, Trustee at Northwestern University, Partner at Ares Management Corp, Senior Partner at Ares Management Corp., Portfolio Man He previously served as Chairman of Ares Multi-Strategy Credit Fund, Inc. He earned his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University.
Opinion: In October 2024, Terex completed the acquisition of Environmental Solutions Group (ESG), a move aimed at strengthening its portfolio in the waste and recycling sector. A new CFO in November added to investor angst. This is a value play in a market that could care less about value.
Name: Hamish Dodds
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-12-13 Shares Bought: 10,000 Average Price Paid: $27.31 Cost: $273,100
Company: Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc. (PLAY)
Name: Michael Griffith J
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-12-13 Shares Bought: 18,000 Average Price Paid: $27.28 Cost: $491,058
Company: Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc. (PLAY)
Name: Kevin M Sheehan
Position: Interim CEO
Transaction Date: 2024-12-12 Shares Bought: 37,735 Average Price Paid: $25.48 Cost: $961,397
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. Its establishments provide a menu of entrées and appetizers, a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and 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.
Mr. Dodds served as President and Chief Executive Officer from March 2004 for Hard Rock International, an owner, operator, and franchisor of restaurants, hotels, casinos, and live music venues in over seventy countries, from 2004 until 2017. Mr. Dodds previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of CabCorp, a fully integrated beverage company in Central America, and as division president for PepsiCo Beverages covering South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Mr. Dodds serves on the board of directors of Pier 1 Imports, Inc. Mr. Dodds has served on the Board of Directors since April 2017. He brings substantial strategic, leadership, governance, finance, global, entertainment/gaming, consumer goods/food and beverage, and operational experience to the Board of Directors.
Michael J. Griffith has served as Vice Chairman of Activision Blizzard, Inc., since March 2010 as a global publisher of online, personal computer, console, handheld, and mobile games. Mr. Griffith was previously President and CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc., where he also served as President of the Global Beverage Division from 2002 to 2005, Vice President and General Manager of Coffee Products from 1999 to 2002, and Vice President and General Manager of Fabric & Home Care—Japan and Korea and Fabric & Home Care Strategic Planning—Asia from 1997 to 1999. Mr. Griffith sits on the board of directors for Central Garden & Pet Company. Mr. Griffith provides significant leadership, strategic, financial, governance, marketing, e-commerce, entertainment/gaming, and consumer goods experience to the Board of Directors.
Kevin M. Sheehan has been Interim Chief Executive Officer since December 2024, Chairman of the Dave & Buster’s Board since April 2021, and Director since October 2011. He served as Interim CEO of Dave & Busters from October 2021 until June 2022. He has been the Chair and Principal Owner of Mellon Stud Ventures since 2016. Mr. Sheehan holds degrees from Hunter College and New York University Graduate School of Business, as well as a Certified Public Accountant designation. Mr. Sheehan provides significant investment, financial, leadership, strategic, hospitality, global, consumer insights, marketing, and gaming expertise to the Board of Directors.
Opinion: Supposedly the company’s Q3 was roughly in line with expectations. The results missed consensus across all key metrics, and the company announced the departure of CEO Chris Morris who resigned to pursue other opportunities. Holy shit, he just bought $500k worth of stock the beginning of October. I don’t think I’ve seen this bait and switch and I’ve seen a lot.
Name: Jack Lee Macdowell Jr
Position: Chief Investment Officer
Transaction Date: 2024-12-10 Shares Bought: 66,000 Average Price Paid: $15.13 Cost: $998,580
Transaction Date: 2024-12-06 Shares Bought: 100,000 Average Price Paid: $14.80 Cost: $1,480,500
Company: Chimera Investment Corp (CIM)
Chimera Investment Corp is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that invests directly or indirectly in a diverse portfolio of mortgage assets, including residential mortgage loans, Agency RMBS, Non-Agency RMBS, Agency CMBS, business purpose and investor loans, and other real estate assets. The MBS and other real estate-related securities purchased may be classified as investment-grade, non-investment-grade, or unrated. The organization uses leverage to improve the possible profits on the assets. The primary business goal is to offer attractive risk-adjusted returns through the development of distributable income and asset performance based on mortgage credit fundamentals.
Jack Lee Macdowell Jr. is the Chief Investment Officer of Chimera Investment Corp. His appointment came after Chimera acquired Palisades Group, a residential real estate credit firm co-founded by Macdowell and where he had worked as CIO.
Opinion: 9.81% current yield that has mostly retained its value.
Name: Moishe Gubin
Position: CEO
Transaction Date: 2024-12-03 Shares Bought: 250,567 Average Price Paid: $11.16 Cost: $2,795,202
Company: Strawberry Fields REIT Inc. (STRW)
Strawberry Fields REIT Inc. is a self-managed and self-administered real estate firm that focuses on the acquisition, ownership, and triple-net leasing of skilled nursing facilities and other post-acute care buildings. The properties are spread across Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. The firm generates the majority of its revenue by leasing the buildings to tenants on long-term leases, primarily on a triple-net basis, in which the tenant pays for real estate taxes, insurance, and other facility operating costs, as well as capital expenditures.
Moishe Gubin has been the company’s CEO and director since June 2021, when it was founded. He has been the Predecessor Company’s CEO since 2014, and the BVI Company’s Co-CEO and Chairman of the Board since 2015. A firm that manages skilled nursing facilities and other healthcare services. Mr. Gubin earned a B.S. in Accounting and Information Systems from Touro Liberal Arts and Science College in New York, New York, as well as a minor in Jewish studies. Mr. Gubin is the founder of Midwest Torah Center Inc., a non-profit spiritual outreach organization.
Opinion: I’m not buying the Rabbi.
Name: Kenneth M. Parent
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-12-02 Shares Bought: 62,735 Average Price Paid: $8.07 Cost: $506,271
Company: Westrock Coffee Co. (WEST)
Westrock Coffee Company, a Delaware corporation, is a leading integrated coffee, tea, flavors, extracts, and ingredients solutions provider in the United States. The company provides coffee sourcing, supply chain management, product development, roasting, packaging, and distribution services to retail, food service, restaurants, convenience stores and travel centers, non-commercial accounts, consumer packaged goods, and hospitality industries worldwide. We aim to create and efficiently operate the world’s leading integrated coffee, tea, flavors, extracts, and ingredients solutions provider to the world’s most recognizable brands. The company does this to enable smallholder farmers and their families in developing nations to improve their standard of living and economic well-being.
Ken Parent is the Vice Chairman and Head of Strategic Communications at the National Association of Convenience Stores. He has also served as the Vice Chairman of Westrock Coffee Co. since 2024. In addition, he has been an Independent Director of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc., since 2011. Previously, Mr. Parent was Senior Vice President-Operations at Pilot Corp. From 2001 to 2014, he served as SVP-Operations, Marketing, and Human Resources for Pilot Travel Centers LLC. Mr. Parent earned his undergraduate and MBA degrees from San Diego State University. Mr. Parent also sits on the boards of BJ’s Wholesale Club and Hollywood Feed. Mr. Parent earned a Master of Business Administration and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from San Diego State University.
Opinion: Why do we need more coffee brands?
Name: Gary Pace W
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-12-11 Shares Bought: 361,615 Average Price Paid: $2.60 Cost: $940,199
Company: Cardiff Oncology Inc. (CRDF)
Cardiff Oncology Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology business that uses PLK1 inhibition, a well-validated oncology therapeutic target, to discover innovative medicines for tumors with the highest unmet medical need. The goal is to target tumor vulnerabilities using a combination of onvansertib, oral and highly selective PLK1 inhibitors, and standard-of-care therapies. The company’s clinical program focuses on indications such as RAS-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer, as well as investigator-initiated trials in metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, small cell lung cancer, and triple-negative breast cancer. The clinical development projects use tumor genomes and biomarker assays to improve the assessment of patient response to treatment.
Dr. Gary W. Pace has been a director since 2020 and is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive with over 40 years of industry expertise. He co-founded many early-stage life science companies, where he developed items from the lab to commercialization, and he is currently involved in several private companies. He has served on the boards of many public businesses, including Pacira Biosciences Inc. (2008-2024) and Antisense Therapeutics Ltd. The Board thinks that Dr. Pace’s years of expertise providing strategic consultancy services to complex companies, including his role as a public company director, qualify him to serve as a director.
Opinion: Lotto ticket investing is not a reliable way to accumulate wealth.
a seasoned lotto investor.
Name: Gary C Evans
Position: Chairman & CEO
Transaction Date: 2024-12-10 Shares Bought: 200,000 Average Price Paid: $1.45 Cost: $289,400
Company: United States Antimony Corp (UAMY)
Name: Michael A Mcmanus Jr
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-12-10 Shares Bought: 70,000 Average Price Paid: $1.46 Cost: $102,060
Company: United States Antimony Corp (UAMY)
The United States Antimony Corporation was formed in Montana in January 1970 to mine and produce antimony products. In December 1983, the Company ceased antimony mining operations in the United States but continued to produce antimony products from international sources. In 2000, the Company established Bear River Zeolite Company to mine and produce zeolite in Idaho. The primary activity is the manufacture and sale of antimony, precious metals (mainly gold and silver), and zeolites. Although the company harvests minerals from the Bear River Zeolite site in Idaho, which the company then processes and sells, the company has not developed a technical report summary for the property to determine its mineral resources or reserves.
Gary C. Evans became Co-CEO of United States Antimony Corporation in March 2024 and joined its Board of Directors in November 2022. Mr. Evans is a serial entrepreneur who has taken three different energy companies public on the New York Stock Exchange. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and the main shareholder of Evergreen Sustainable Enterprises, Inc. Mr. Evans founded Evergreen as an extension of his hemp company, Generation Hemp, Inc., while also building diverse green energy plants that use hemp biomass as biofuel to generate power to mine Bitcoin.
Michael McManus is a known business leader and builder with expertise as a public company CEO, senior government official, lawyer, new product development leader, and member of multiple company boards. Mr. McManus sat on the board of Novavax, a biotechnology firm dedicated to addressing major infectious illnesses around the world by discovering, developing, and delivering new vaccines to patients. Mr. McManus formerly served as president, CEO, and director of Misonix, Inc., a medical, scientific, and industrial provider of ultrasonic and air pollution solutions. He was also president and CEO of Jamcor Pharmaceuticals Inc. He also received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Opinion: Stay away. I nearly bought a mine in Idaho. Reminds me of it.
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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 Chat GPT and 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.
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Prosperous Trading,
