Curious how well insiders are doing with their buys? Scroll through the blog posts and see for yourself
September secured its reputation as the cruelest month in the market with a bone-crushing loss S&P 500 loss of 9%. It also set a 52-week low to cap off its worst month since March 2020. We are deep into the quarterly earnings blackout, and most insiders are restricted from buying their company’s stock for two more weeks, at least until the middle of October. All bear markets in the last 20 years have ended with a crescendo of insider buying. As you can see from the cadence of these reports, we are nowhere near such a cathartic moment. I wrote the previous week we are sitting on support which I expect to be broken next week. It collapsed as predicted. There is some chance that this will end in a clearing event, aka crash but then it might take a decade to fix a decade of artificially low-interest rates. We do notice bottoming action although small. There are starting to be multiple buys in REITs and oil and gas drilling and maintenance services. We could very well be putting in a bottom for now in those groups.
One observation I hear a lot is that we had interest rates at this level for many years without crashing the stock market or the housing market. This is true but the market was priced a lot lower and so was your house. That’s not a prediction. It’s just math.
Name: Daniel Durn
Position: CFO
Transaction Date: 2022-09-22 Shares Bought: 3,250 Average Price Paid: $288.11 Cost: $936,358.00
Company: Adobe Inc. (DNB)
Name: David A Ricks
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2022-09-27 Shares Bought: 1,200 Average Price Paid: $280.56 Cost: $336,672.00
Company: Adobe Inc. (DNB)
Worldwide, Adobe Inc. works as a diverse software corporation. Digital Media, Digital Experience, and Publishing and Advertising make up its three operating sectors. In addition to Document Cloud, a centralized platform for cloud-based document services, the Digital Media section provides goods, services, and solutions that let people, groups, and businesses create, distribute, and promote content. Creative Cloud, a subscription service that gives users access to its creative goods, is its standout offering. Content producers, employees, marketers, educators, enthusiasts, communicators, and users are all served by this category. The Digital Experience sector offers a platform, a collection of apps, and a range of services that are all connected to help brands and companies build, run, monitor, execute, and optimize consumer experiences from analytics to commerce. This section provides services to C-suite executives, marketers, advertisers, agencies, publishers, merchandisers, merchants, web analysts, data scientists, and developers. The Publication and Advertising section offers e-learning solutions, technical document publishing, online conferencing, document and forms platforms, web application development, high-end printing, and Advertising Cloud offerings, among other goods and services.
Dan is the executive vice president and chief financial officer of the Finance, Technology Services, and Operations division. He was appointed to these positions in October 2021. Dan is making use of his extensive expertise and experience in technology and finance to lead Adobe’s corporate operations with rigor and continual excellence, drive enablement at scale, and fuel innovation throughout the enterprise. Dan provides decades of experience in the technology sector and deep knowledge of global strategy, financial planning and operations, and mergers and acquisitions. Durn most recently worked for Applied Materials as senior vice president and CFO from 2017 to 2021. Prior to its merger with Freescale Semiconductor, NXP Semiconductors N.V. appointed him executive vice president and CFO. Prior to joining Freescale, Dan held the positions of managing d director, and head of Mergers & Acquisitions and Strategy at Mubadala Technology Fund, as well as CFO and executive vice president of Finance and Administration at GlobalFoundries. Dan served as vice president of mergers and acquisitions for Goldman Sachs & Company’s technology practice earlier.
Businessman David A. Ricks is the chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Eli Lilly & Co., chairman of Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America, president of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, member of The Business Roundtable, member of The Business Council, and chairman-governing board at James Whittle. He also serves on the boards of Adobe, Inc. and The Central Indiana Corporate Partnership. He formerly held the positions of Principal at HP Inc., Principal at IBM Corp., President for Lilly USA LLC, President & General Manager at Lilly Industries Shanghai Ltd., and General Manager of Eli Lilly Canada Inc. Mr. Ricks graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree and Indiana University with an MBA.
Opinion: Not even the CFO buying $1 million worth of stock and a prominent director purchasing over $300k worth has changed the dynamics of paying up for Figma. Adobe tanked $ 30 billion on concern it’s overpaid for Figma. It’s a groundbreaking technology and undoubtedly Adobe thought it had to buy the company to keep its thought leadership in its most important sector, graphic publishing. Ironically I think these two purchases would have put a bottom on the stock but now this expensive dilutive acquisition just as the market expects an overall economic added a whole new level of confusion and anxiety. Adobe is a technology blue chip and WAS a stock you wanted to own but the growing pace of acquisitions in recent years adds a level of risk to the name that wasn’t there before. Put this one on the shopping list- but at what price is still a mystery to me.
Name: R Brad Martin
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2022-09-26 Shares Bought: 1,500 Average Price Paid: $143.41 Cost: $215,120.00
Company: FedEx Corp (FDX)
FedEx Corporation (FedEx) offers a variety of delivery, e-commerce, and business services through firms that operate independently and in competitive alliances under the FedEx name. FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Services are among the company’s segments. The FedEx Express division provides a variety of domestic and international shipping services for the delivery of packages and freight within the United States. The FedEx Ground division offers home delivery services through its FedEx Home Delivery service as well as small-package ground delivery services, including day-certain service, to any business address in the United States and Canada. The FedEx Freight division provides less-than-truckload (LTL) freight services. The company’s operating segments are supported by the FedEx Services section, which offers services in sales, marketing, information technology, communications, customer service, technical support, billing and collection, and some back-office tasks.
Founder of Hope 2 Hire and Corporate Child Care, Inc. Businessman R. Brad Martin, who has led 7 distinct organizations, is now the chairman of RBM Venture Co., an industrial adviser for CVC Advisers Ltd., and the chairman and CEO of Riverview Acquisition Corp. Additionally, he serves on the boards of directors for FedEx Corp., Pilot Travel Centers LLC, and Westrock Coffee Co. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Inc., the managing member of Cherry Road Leasing LLC, Rbm Mountain LLC, and Rbm Nativo LLC. R. Brad Martin has held a variety of leadership roles throughout his career, including non-executive chairman at Chesapeake Energy Corp., executive chairman at Saks, Inc., chief executive officer at Proffitts, Inc. (a Saks, Inc. subsidiary), chairman of the Martin Family Foundation, and president of the University of Memphis. University of Memphis student, R. Brad Martin, earned an MBA from Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management.
Opinion: FedEx shocked the market and fell 12% in price when it warned of a sudden and significant global slowdown. The stock cratered when it announced “First quarter results were adversely impacted by global volume softness that accelerated in the final weeks of the quarter. FedEx Express results were particularly impacted by macroeconomic weakness in Asia and service challenges in Europe, leading to a revenue shortfall in this segment of approximately $500 million relative to company forecasts. FedEx Ground revenue was approximately $300 million below company forecasts. While the company took immediate and decisive action to adjust its cost base, the impact of cost actions lagged volume declines, and operating expenses remained high relative to demand.”
Another blue chip we want to own. There are perhaps FEDEX-centric problems with their latest earnings report. Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Shanker lowered the firm’s price target on FedEx to $125 from $250 and kept an Equal Weight rating on the shares after resetting his model following last week’s earnings miss and guidance cut. With “the dust settling,” Shanker believes expectations and the stock have been reset, but in order to make an attractive valuation argument from here, the market needs confidence that estimates have stopped falling first and then make a determination of what multiple is appropriate to apply. Finding the level of normalized earnings and multiple “will be the next step in the story,” the analyst contends.
Name: Jeffrey Gould
Position: CEO
Transaction Date: 2022-09-22 Shares Bought: 3,205 Average Price Paid: $21.54 Cost: $69,027.00
Transaction Date: 2022-09-23 Shares Bought: 11,137 Average Price Paid: $21.36 Cost: $237,839.00
Company: BRT Apartments Corp. (BRT)
Multi-family real estate is owned, managed, and developed by BRT, a real estate investment trust. A real estate investment trust firm is BRT Apartments Corp. The company’s main areas of interest include multi-family property ownership, management, and development. In addition, BRT owns and manages further real estate holdings. All of the company’s assets are made up of multifamily real estate properties, which are typically leased to tenants for a period of one year.
Jeffrey A. Gould now holds the positions of Director and Senior Vice President of One Liberty Properties, Inc. and President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director at BRT Apartments Corp. In addition, Mr. Gould serves as managing general partner at Gould Investors LP, principal at UJA-Federation of New York, member of Young Presidents’ Organization, Inc., World Presidents’ Organization, and Chief Executives Organization, Inc.; principal at Federation Employment & Guidance Service, Inc.; director and senior vice president at Georgetown Partners, Inc.; and member-New York Finance Committee at Real Estate Board of New York, Inc.
Opinion: Management continues to buy stock putting in a bottom. REITs are in great part yield plays with some built-in inflation protection. At some point, they will stabilize based on their yield. REITs were the only sector in the green during Friday’s rout. They may have hit a bottom for now if the yield is there. BRT currently yields 5.9% and that seems more than sufficient assuming no internal unforeseen factors. Multifamily seems like the most attractive group in the REIT sector. Office and retail are the most exposed to hybrid work trends and recession.
Name: William E Simon Jr
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2022-09-28 Shares Bought: 13,200 Average Price Paid: $18.73 Cost: $247,236.00
Company: Douglas Emmett Inc. (DEI)
A fully integrated, self-managed, and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT), Douglas Emmett, Inc. (DEI) is one of the leading owners and operators of premium office and multifamily buildings situated in the most prestigious coastal submarkets of Honolulu and Los Angeles. In areas with severe supply limitations, upscale executive housing, and essential lifestyle amenities, Douglas Emmett concentrates on owning and purchasing a sizeable portion of premium office buildings and multifamily developments.
Mr. William E. Simon, Jr. has positions as a professor at the University of Southern California, co-chairman of William E. Simon & Sons LLC, and independent director of Douglas Emmett, Inc. He is on the boards of directors for both Douglas Emmett, Inc. and The Heritage Foundation. In 1988, Mr. Simon helped establish William E. Simon & Sons. Earlier in his career, he assisted then-US Attorney Rudolph Giuliani in the Southern District of New York as an assistant US attorney. Mr. Simon graduated from Williams College with a bachelor’s degree and the Boston University School of Law with a law degree.
Opinion: Douglas Emmett yields 6.25% at Friday’s closing price of $17.93. That should be sufficient even for the beleaguered office market. Office and retail are the most exposed to hybrid work trends and recession. I don’t anticipate a sharp recession by higher rates as most retailers carry little debt. There will be less building and that should benefit existing players like DEI.
Name: John Edward Adent
Position: CEO
Transaction Date: 2022-09-28 Shares Bought: 22,000 Average Price Paid: $14.37 Cost: $316,140
Company: Neogen Corp (NEOG)
Name: Douglas Edward Jones
Position: Chief Operating Officer
Transaction Date: 2022-09-28 Shares Bought: 7,000 Average Price Paid: $14.31 Cost: $100,170
Company: Neogen Corp (NEOG)
Together with its subsidiaries, Neogen Corporation creates, produces, and sells a range of products for animal and food safety across the world. Food safety and animal safety make up its two operational parts. The Food Safety segment provides diagnostic test kits and related products to identify potentially harmful and unintended substances in food and animal feed, such as foodborne pathogens, spoilage organisms, natural toxins, food allergens, genetic modifications, ruminant byproducts, meat speciation, drug residues, pesticide residues, and general sanitation issues; and AccuPoint Advanced rapid sanitation test to identify adenosine triphosphate, a substance found in livable tissue. This industry sector primarily sells its goods to businesses involved in the production of food and feed, grains, cookies, crackers, candy, ice cream, and other processed foods, as well as to labs, manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and veterinary vaccines, as well as businesses involved in the processing of meat, poultry, and seafood.
In 2017, John became the CEO of Neogen®, bringing with him years of experience in both food and animal safety. From his home fruit orchard in Southwest Michigan to Hungary, the Philippines, Spain, and China, he has worked all over the world. He was CEO of Animal Health International before joining Neogen. John remained in his position as CEO of Patterson Animal Health following the company’s acquisition by Patterson. He has also held executive positions with the Ralston Purina Company and Agribrands, a spinoff of that company. Neogen has expanded globally under his direction as CEO and President.
Doug joined Neogen in August 2020 as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), a newly formed post. In April 2022, he was promoted Chief Operating Officer (COO). He is in charge of Neogen’s global revenue and operations as COO. Doug joins Neogen after serving as president of the companion animal group at Patterson Veterinary Supply for over five years. After seven years at Merial North America, where he most recently held the position of President of Merial North America, he joined Patterson.
Opinion: I think the food supply is more resilient to economic trends than consumer discretionary for example. Neogen just completed a merger with 3M’s food safety business that they spun off. On September 27th the company announced, Reports Q1 revenue of $132.35M vs. $128.31M a year ago. “During the first quarter of our 2023 fiscal year, we continued to be faced with challenging business conditions, both in terms of a slowing economy, inflationary raw material cost increases, and ongoing supply chain issues. Our results were also adversely impacted by currency headwinds, primarily in Europe, which resulted in $3.9 million of lower revenues in the first quarter on a comparative basis,” said Steve Quinlan, Neogen’s Vice President and CFO. “Despite this, we continued to invest in the company, purchasing a small distributor in Thailand, ceremonially breaking ground on our new manufacturing facility in Lansing, and nearing completion on a distribution facility in Kentucky.”
Name: Coppola Edward C
Position: President
Transaction Date: 2022-09-23 Shares Bought: 50,000 Average Price Paid: $7.98 Cost: $399,000.00
Company: Macerich Co (DNB)
Name: Thomas E O Hern
Position: CEO
Transaction Date: 2022-09-23 Shares Bought: 12,820 Average Price Paid: $7.77 Cost: $99,560.00
Company: Macerich Co (DNB)
The company’s roots may be traced back to the MaceRich Real Estate Company, which was created in New York in 1964 by Mace Siegel and Richard Cohen, who named their company after combining their first names. In the United States, the Macerich Company is a real estate investment trust (REIT). The Macerich Partnership, L.P., the company’s majority-owned partnership, is in the business of buying, owning, developing, redeveloping, managing, and leasing regional and community shopping complexes.
Edward C. Coppola started Macerich Co.. He serves as Vice Chairman and President of this business. Additionally, Mr. Coppola serves on the board of Strategic Hotels Capital, Inc., is a member of the Pension Real Estate Association, The Real Estate Roundtable, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, Inc., and the International Council of Shopping Centers, Inc. Mr. Coppola previously belonged to the Urban Land Institute. He graduated from Drake University with a master’s degree after earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame.
As Macerich’s CEO, Tom O’Hern leads one of the nation’s top retail real estate firms with enviable assets in a number of premier U.S. locations. Mr. O’Hern has contributed significantly to the development of Macerich’s extensive national portfolio of high-performing retail properties for more than 20 years. He has a thorough understanding of the changing retail landscape, is a proven financial and strategic thinker, and has strong relationships in the sector. Mr. O’Hern was a crucial member of the management team that brought Macerich public with its IPO in March 1994. He joined the business in 1993 as CFO. Mr. O’Hern served as Macerich’s Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer prior to his appointment as CEO. He has worked for a number of different real estate development firms as their chief financial officer. Earlier in his career, from 1978 to 1984, Mr. O’Hern worked with Arthur Andersen & Co. as a Certified Public Accountant.
Opinion: It’s been hard to make money buying Macerich and with interest rates headed the wrong way, I’m not going to even try.
Name: Earl Childress
Position: Sr. V.P. Chief Commercial Ofc
Transaction Date: 2022-09-29 Shares Bought: 10,000 Average Price Paid: $7.92 Cost: $79,157
Company: Oceaneering International Inc. (OII)
Name: Steven A Webster
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2022-09-27 Shares Bought: 25,000 Average Price Paid: $7.67 Cost: $191,675
Company: Oceaneering International Inc. (OII)
Globally, the offshore energy, defense, aerospace, manufacturing, and entertainment industries are served by Oceaneering International, Inc.’s engineering services, goods, and robotic solutions. The business’s Subsea Robotics division offers remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for drill support and vessel-based services, such as installing and building subsea gear, inspecting pipelines, conducting surveys, and inspecting, maintaining, and repairing facilities. Along with survey services, such as hydrographic survey and location, this category also provides ROV tooling and autonomous underwater vehicles for geoscience. This section had 250 work-class ROVs as of December 31, 2021. The company’s Manufactured Products division offers the energy sector distribution and connection systems, such as production control umbilicals and field development gear, pipeline connection, and repair systems, as well as entertainment systems, to a variety of other sectors.
In March 2020, Mr. Childress was appointed Oceaneering’s Chief Commercial Officer and Senior Vice President of Business Development. He held these positions from May 2015 to January 2020: General Manager of Teledyne Seismic and Teledyne RD Instruments; Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Development for Teledyne Marine. Before 2015, Mr. Childress worked with Teledyne in a variety of sales, marketing, and strategy positions, as well as in market mergers and acquisitions involving marine instruments. He completed the Stanford Executive Program in 2013 and graduated.
Founder of eight businesses, including Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc., Grey Wolf, Inc., and R&B Falcon Corp. Entrepreneur and businessman Steven A. Webster now serves as the Managing Partner of AEC Holdings LP and has led eight separate firms. In addition, he serves on the boards of 19 more firms and is a general partner at Somerset Capital Partners LP and managing general partner at Cerrito Partners. Prior to founding Avista Capital Holdings LP in 2010, he served as Chairman of Basic Energy Services, Inc., Chairman of Solitario Zinc Corp., Chairman of aPriori Capital Partners LP, and Chairman of Crown Resources Corp.
Opinion: I suppose Oceaneering robots are on the scene now at the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage site. Their world-class underwater robots are essential in deep water drilling and that business is getting a lifeline in a world short on energy supplies. I think this is probably a buy.
Name: Farner Jay
Position: CEO
Transaction Date: 2022-09-26 Shares Bought: 88,600 Average Price Paid: $6.76 Cost: $599,032
Company: Rocket Companies Inc. (RKT)
Name: Matthew Rizik
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2022-09-26 Shares Bought: 9,500 Average Price Paid: $6.76 Cost: $64,202
Company: Rocket Companies Inc. (RKT)
Rocket Companies, Inc. operates in the United States and Canada in the tech-driven real estate, mortgage, and e-Commerce industries. It works in two divisions: Direct to Consumer and Partner Network. Rocket Mortgage is a mortgage lender; Amrock provides title insurance, property valuation, and settlement services; Rocket Homes is a home search platform and real estate agent referral network that offers technology-enabled services to support the home buying and selling experience; Rocket Auto is an automotive retail marketplace that provides centralized and virtual car sales support to online car purchasing platforms, and Rocket Loans is a mortgage lender.It also provides Core Digital Media, a digital social and display advertiser in the mortgage, insurance, and education sectors.
Rocket Companies’ Chief Executive Officer and Director are Jay Farner. He joined Quicken Loans in 1996 and has held top leadership positions since 1999. Jay was President and Chief Marketing Officer prior to his ascension to CEO in 2017. He is also the Chief Executive Officer and Director of RHI and certain of its subsidiaries. Jay is a member of the boards of Detroit Labs, Community Solutions, StockX, Bedrock Manufacturing, the Metropolitan Detroit YMCA, Bizdom Fund, and Rocket Giving Fund. Jay graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor’s degree in finance.
Robert D. Walters now holds the positions of President and Chief Operating Officer at Rocket Cos., Inc. and President at Rocket Mortgage Co-Issuer, Inc. In addition, Mr. Walters serves as Rocket Mortgage LLC’s CEO.
Mr. Walters formerly worked as the President of Rock Holdings, Inc. and a Principal at NBD Bank NA. Mr. Walters graduated from Oakland University with a bachelor’s degree and the University of Michigan with an MBA (Michigan).
Opinion: These are the rare 10b5-1 buying programs so I wouldn’t put too much credence too it. At some point, Famer’s losing investments are likely to turn positive as the mortgage business will come back with a vengeance if the Fed lowers rates and there won’t be a lot of competition left. Rocket is a long-term winner in my opinion but a short-term loser.
Name: Wes Cummins
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2022-09-28 Shares Bought: 208,900 Average Price Paid: $4.24 Cost: $885,797.00
Company: CalAmp Corp. (CAMP)
Using a data-driven solutions ecosystem, CalAmp Corp., a connected intelligence firm, offers people and companies across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific, and other countries what they need. The business is divided into two divisions: Telematics Products and Software & Subscription Services. It offers the CalAmp Telematics Cloud platform, which includes software as service applications, cloud-based application enablement, and telematics service platforms that enable the integration of both its own and other parties’ applications through open application programming interfaces, as well as tracking and monitoring services for fleet management, supply chain integrity, and global vehicle location. The company also provides advanced telematics products for the connected vehicle and Internet of Things markets, which enable customers to optimize their operations by gathering, monitoring, and reporting business-critical information and desired intelligence from remote and mobile assets. These products include asset tracking units, mobile telematics devices, fixed and mobile wireless gateways, and routers.
Mr. Wesley C. Cummins is an Independent Director at Sequans Communications SA, an Independent Director at Vishay Precision Group, Inc., a Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at Applied Science Products, Inc. and a Founder & Chief Investment Officer at 272 Capital LP. He is on the Board of Directors at Sequans Communications SA and Vishay Precision Group, Inc. Mr. Cummins was previously employed as an Independent Director by TeleNav, Inc., a Research Analyst by Nokomis Capital LLC, an Analyst by Harvey Partners LLC, a Research Director & Head-Capital Markets by B. Riley & Co. LLC, a President by Riley Investment Management LLC, an Analyst by Needham & Co., Inc., and an Analyst by Kennedy Capital Management, Inc.
Opinion: Mr. Cummins has an impressive resume and is not afraid to buy falling knives. I struggle to find the value though in CAMP. It presents itself as the Internet of Things, the connected company but revenues are stagnant for a growth industry.
Name: Philip Scott Moses
Position: EVP Chief Operating Officer
Transaction Date: 2022-09-23 Shares Bought: 58,624 Average Price Paid: $3.63 Cost: $212,654.00
Company: Oil States International Inc. (OIS)
Through its subsidiaries, Oil States International, Inc. offers drilling, completion, subsea, production, and infrastructure products and services to the global oil and gas industry. Well Site Services, Downhole Technologies, and Offshore/Manufactured Products make up the company’s three business segments. Throughout the life of a well, the Well Site Services sector provides a variety of tools and services that are used to drill for, create, and sustain the flow of oil and gas. Additionally, it offers drilling services, wellhead isolation, wireline and coiled tubing support, flowback and well testing, pipe recovery systems, gravel pack and sand management, blowout preventer, and services for wireline and coiled tubing. The Downhole Technologies division offers wireline, completion, intervention, and well abandonment operations with downhole tools and oil and gas perforation systems. Additionally, this business division develops, produces, and sells its consumable designed goods to oilfield service, exploration, and production firms.
The Company welcomed Mr. Moses in August 1996. Since July 2022, he has held the positions of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. He held the position of Executive Vice President, Offshore/Manufactured Products and Downhole Technologies from May 2021 until July 2022. He held the position of Executive Vice President, Offshore/Manufactured Products from May 2016 to May 2021. He held the position of President, Offshore/Manufactured Products from July 2015 until May 2016. Mr. Moses held the position of Senior Vice President, Offshore/Manufactured Products from February 2013 to July 2015, where he was in charge of all domestic and foreign sites for the business sector. He held the position of Senior Vice President, Engineering and Industrial Products, Offshore Products from February 2011 until February 2013.
Opinion: Two buys this week in two sectors, oil and gas infrastructure and drilling and REITs. These are indications of bottoming in both of these sectors.
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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 who has any experience at all in the stock market pays close attention to what insiders are doing. After all, who knows a business better than the people running it? Officers, directors, and 10% owners are required to inform the public through a Form 4 Filing any transaction, buy, sell, exercise, or any other within 48 hours of doing so. This info is available for free from the SEC’s Web site, Edgar, although we subscribe to SECForm4 as they provide a way to manage and make sense of the vast realms of data. I’ve tried a lot of vendors. SECForm4 is one of the smaller ones but I like supporting Frank. He is not arrogant. He’s helpful and has great prices. He also trades on his own data so I like people that eat what they kill.
We publish a subscription newsletter called The Insiders Report. We offer a free 30-day trial so you have nothing to lose by trying it out. Be sure to carefully read the TERMS OF SERVICE.
The bar is different from selling because the natural state of management is to be sellers. This is because most companies provide significant amounts of management compensation packages as stock and options. Therefore, with selling, we analyze unusual patterns, such as insiders selling 25 percent or more of their holdings or multiple insiders selling near 52-week lows. Another red flag is large planned sale programs that start without warning. Unfortunately, the public information disclosure requirements about these programs referred to as Rule 10b5-1 is horrendously poor. Also planned sales that just pop up out of nowhere are basically sales and are seeking cover under the Sarbanes Oxley corporate welfare clause. I also generally ignore 10 percent shareholders as they tend to be OPM (other people’s money) and perhaps not the smart money we are trying to read the tea leaves on.
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.
No one tracks and understands insider behavior better than us. We’ve been doing it religiously since 2001 when I quit being an insider myself and devoted myself full time to managing my personal investments. Needless to say, past good fortune is no guarantee of future success. We may own positions, long or short, in any of these names and are under no obligation to disclose that. We welcome your comments on our analysis.
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