Insider Buying

Insider Weekends – September 03, 2010

September 5, 2010 | Insider Buying | Author Asif

Welcome to edition thirteen of Insider Weekends. Insider buying decreased last week with insiders purchasing $20.55 million of their stock when compared to $31.62 million in the week prior. Selling also decreased with insiders selling $364.14 million worth of stock when compared to $395.72 million in the week prior.

Sell/Buy Ratio:

The insider Sell/Buy ratio is calculated by dividing the total insider sales in a given week by total insider buying in that week. The adjusted ratio for last week went up to 17.72. In other words, insiders sold almost 18 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the week prior when the ratio stood at 12.51. We are calculating an adjusted ratio by removing transactions by funds and companies and trying as best as possible only to retain information about insiders and 10% owners who are not funds or companies.

Notable Insider Buys:

1. Cherokee Inc. (CHKE): $18.15

Chief Executive Officer Henry Stupp acquired 81,967 shares of this apparel company, paying $18.3 per share for a total amount of $1.5 million. Mr. Stupp was appointed CEO of Cherokee last week and it looks  like the market did not receive him enthusiastically, with the stock dropping nearly 7% on the day of his appointment.

Mr. Stupp has been awarded 300,000 options at $18.30 that have a six year term and will vest annually in 5 installments. Half of the shares will vest only if Stupp buys an additional $1 million in shares by Jan. 31.

2. Entercom Communications Corp. (ETM): $7.3

Chairman Joseph field acquired 228,500 shares of this radio broadcasting company, paying $5.53 per share for a total amount of $1.3 million.

On August 30, when I sent out the nightly update on insider purchases to special reports subscribers, I wrote,

“This is by far the most interesting purchase of the day. Valuation of Entercom looks attractive and the stock has suffered a very steep sell-off from the $16 level in May to its current $5.35. The last time Mr. Field purchased stock was back at the height of the financial crisis when he picked up Entercom stock for around $1 and watched it soar to $16. Between January and April 2009, Mr. Field and his son David Field (the CEO of the company) picked up nearly $1 million of Entercom stock.

While Entercom is a profitable company with admirable margins, it labors under a debt load of $714 million. I dug through their annual report to learn that the $708 million in intangible assets listed on their balance sheet are broadcast licenses.”

The stock is up more than 30% this week following these insider purchases.

3. SCANA Corp. (SCG): $40.56

Chairman, President & CEO William Timmerman acquired 29,190 shares of this diversified South Carolina based utilities company, paying $38.94 per share for a total amount of $1.14 million.

This purchase has boosted CEO Timmerman’s position by almost 70% to 70,985 shares held directly without taking into account another 37,195 shares he holds through a 401(k) plan.

The company owns more than 500 miles of fiber optic cable directly and operates data centre facilities. While the dividend yield of 4.7% is attractive, valuation and the $5 billion in debt SCANA has on its balance sheet does not make this company a screaming buy for me.

4. German American Bancorp Inc. (GABC): $16.52

Director Thomas Seger acquired 51,042 shares of this regional bank, paying $15.5 per share for a total amount of $791,151.

Mr. Seger was appointed to the board of this regional bank two weeks ago. I would not read too much into this purchase as new directors often purchase stock in the companies they are appointed to.

5. Imergent Inc. (IIG): $4.1399

Chief Executive officer Steven Mihaylo acquired 162,000 shares of this e-services company, paying $3.75 per share for a total amount of $608,080.

Along with Julia Gouw of East West Bancorp (EWBC), this is another executive I see consistently buying shares of his company. Mr. Mihaylo has purchased $1.96 million worth of Imergent stock since the start of this year as reported on 25 SEC filings.

Notable Insider Sales:

It was interesting to see that three out of the five notable sales for this week were by insiders of real estate investment trusts (REITs). Full Disclosure: I am short the apartment REIT AIMCO (AIV).

1. Macerich Co. (MAC): $44

Shares of this retail REIT were sold by two insiders:

• Chairman & CEO Arthur Coppola sold 252,275 shares at $43.68 per share, generating $11.02 million
• Senior EVP, Treasurer & CFO Thomas O Hern sold 9,500 shares at $43.15 per share, generating $409,925

2. Equity Residential (EQR): $48.86

Shares of this apartment REIT were sold by two insiders:

• Executive Vice President Frederick Tuomi sold 60,245 shares at $47.27 per share, generating $2.85 million
• EVP & General Counsel Bruce Strohm sold 8,296 shares at $47.84 per share, generating $396,892

12,000 of Mr. Tuomi’s shares were sold directly, while the rest were sold as a result of excercising options. Other insiders at EQR also sold stock last week but those were options related sales.

3. The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO): $22.88

Shares of this correction and detention centers operator were sold by six insiders:

• President and COO Wayne Calabrese sold 388,959 shares at $22.59 per share, generating $8.8 million
• Chairman & CEO George Zoley sold 6,670 shares at $22.59 per share, generating $150,675
• Director Anne Foreman sold 750 shares at $22.59 per share, generating $16,943
• VP, Chief Accounting Officer Brian Evans sold 546 shares at $22.59 per share, generating $12,334
• VP Business Development Ron Maddux sold 448 shares at $22.6 per share, generating $10,126
• SVP – Project Development Thomas Wierdsma sold 396 shares at $22.59 per share, generating $8,946

On August 26, President and COO, Wayne Calabrese announced that he would retire at the end of this year after more than 21 years at the company. Six days later he turned around and sold his entire $8.79 million stake in the company. The sale price of $22.59 for all the transactions is odd and made it look like the sales were part of an equity offering but I did not find any information about an equity offering or why all the sales prices are the same.

4. Aruba Networks, Inc. (ARUN): $19.49

Shares of this networking company were sold by three insiders:

• Chief Technology Officer Keerti Melkote sold 450,000 shares at $18.99 per share, generating $8.55 million
• Chief Financial Officer Steffan Tomlinson sold 44,333 shares at $18.17 per share, generating $805,575
• Director Bernard Guidon sold 2,000 shares at $18.77 per share, generating $37,542

CTO Melkote’s sales are part of the Rule 10b5-1 scheduled trading plan adopted on 12/2/2009. However it is worth noting that the last two sales by Mr. Melkote under this plan were for 75,000 shares each. This time around he sold 450,000 shares. CFO Tomlinson and Director Guidon’s sales was also part of scheduled trading plans.

5. Vornado Realty Trust (VNO): $87.41

Shares of this office and retail REIT were sold by two insiders:

• Director Russell B Wight Jr. sold 70,000 shares at $85.17  per share, generating $5.96 million
• EVP – Retail Division Sandeep Mathrani sold 29,709 shares at $83.21  per share, generating $2.47 million

Related Posts:

• Insider Weekends – August 27, 2010
• How Fresh is This Data?
• Introduction to Insider Weekends

Contributing Author: Ann Kumar

Leave A Comment

Insider Weekends – August 27, 2010

August 29, 2010 | Insider Buying | Author Ann Kumar

Welcome to edition twelve of Insider Weekends. Insider buying decreased last week with insiders purchasing $31.62 million of their stock when compared to $45.76 million in the week prior. Selling dropped more significantly with insiders selling $395.72 million worth of stock when compared to $1.01 billion in the week prior.

Sell/Buy Ratio:

The insider Sell/Buy ratio is calculated by dividing the total insider sales in a given week by total insider buying in that week. The adjusted ratio for last week dropped to 12.51. In other words, insiders sold almost 13 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the week prior when the ratio stood at 22.04. We are calculating an adjusted ratio by removing transactions by funds and companies and trying as best as possible only to retain information about insiders and 10% owners who are not funds or companies.

Notable Insider Buys:

1. Consolidated Graphics, Inc. (CGX): $41.82

Shares of this general commercial printing company were purchased by two insiders:

• CEO & Chairman of the Board Joe Davis acquired 145,821 shares, paying $37.49 per share for a total amount of $5.47 million
• CFO & Accounting Officer Jon Biro acquired 10,000 shares, paying $37.68 per share for a total amount of $376,830

These are significant purchases by both the CEO and the CFO. The CFO tripled his stake from 5,000 shares to 15,000 shares with this purchase. CEO Joe Davis also purchased $7.6 million of CGX stock on May 12, 2010 and the stock jumped 19% the following day. When I sent my daily insider purchasing update to Special Reports subscribers on Friday, I wrote “Given the current state of the market, I expect reaction to be more muted this time but still expect the stock to trend higher in coming days.” Reaction was indeed muted this time but the stock still shot up nearly 7% on Friday.

2. Tower Financial Corporation (TOFC): $6.75

Shares of this bank holding company were purchased by five insiders:

• Director V John Tippman Sr acquired 157,480 shares, paying $6.35 per share for a total amount of $999,998
• Director Keith Busse acquired 157,480 shares, paying $6.35 per share for a total amount of $999,998
• Director Joseph Ruffolo acquired 15,748 shares, paying $6.35 per share for a total amount of $100,000
• Director Scott Glaze acquired 11,811 shares, paying $6.35 per share for a total amount of $75,000
• Director Debra Niezer acquired 6,299 shares, paying $6.35 per share for a total amount of $39,999

These purchases were part of a private offering. Two directors purchased nearly $1 million of stock. Both of them own more than 10% of the company following this offering. I normally tend not to include offerings like these but the amount purchased by the directors for this regional bank with a market cap of just $27 million, made the purchase noteworthy.

3. Level 3 Communications Inc. (LVLT): $1.03

Shares of this diversified communications services provider were purchased by six insiders:

• Director Walter Scott Jr. acquired 1,575,000 shares, paying $1.05 per share for a total amount of $1.65 million
• Director Arun Netravali acquired 100,000 shares, paying $1.05 per share for a total amount of $105,000
• Director Michael Mahoney acquired 100,000 shares, paying $1.05 per share for a total amount of $105,000
• Director Douglas Bradbury acquired 50,000 shares, paying $1.05 per share for a total amount of $52,500
• Director John Reed acquired 50,000 shares, paying $1.05 per share for a total amount of $52,500
• Director Douglas Eby acquired 25,000 shares, paying $1.05 per share for a total amount of $26,250

All the purchases were at $1.05, which made me wonder if these purchases were part of a stock offering. I could not find any information about an offering but at $2 million, this purchase is not significant for a company with an Enterprise Value of $7.54 billion.

Update: A reader pointed out that the shares were sold by the company’s CEO on August 25 to other directors in a pre-arranged transaction

4. Tyco Electronics, Ltd. (TEL): $24.94

Director Frederic Poses acquired 40,000 shares of this diversified electronics company, paying $25.49 per share for a total amount of $1.02 million

5. Complete Production Services, Inc. (CPX): $17.21

Director Harold Hamm acquired 60,000 shares of this oilfield service provider, paying $16.7 per share for a total amount of $1 million.

This purchase by Mr. Hamm is interesting because his previous purchases were during the height of the financial crisis in March and June 2009 when the stock was trading at a small fraction of its current price.

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Crown Castle International Corp. (CCI): $41.09

Director David Abrams sold 883,801 shares of this wireless communications tower company, for $40.99 per share generating $36.23 million. These shares were sold indirectly through funds and this was the fourth week that CCI has shown up on our list. Despite a very rich valuation, investors have continued to bid this company higher with the stock up nearly 10% over the last month even as the S&P 500 is down more than 3%.

2. Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (EL): $57.36

Two insiders sold shares of this consumer goods company:

• Chairman, Clinique Labs, Ronald Lauder sold 350,000 shares at an average selling price of $56.61 per share, generating $19.81 million
• Chairman Emeritus Leonard Lauder sold 50,000 shares at an average selling price of $56.89 per share, generating $2.84 million

3. Intuit Inc. (INTU): $42.94

Chairman of Exec. Committee Scott Cook sold 300,000 shares of this technology and application software services provider at $42.78 per share, generating $12.83 million. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust. A number of other insiders also sold Intuit stock but those sales were as a result of exercising options.

4. Salesforce.com (CRM): $111.48

Two insiders sold shares of this Software as a Service (SaaS) provider:

• Director Stratton Sclavos sold 8,200 shares at $109.15 per share, generating $895,025.
• President, Global Corporate Sales Frank van Veenendaal sold 4,462 shares at $112.46 per share, generating $501,786.

A number of other insiders including CEO Marc Benioff also sold stock but those sales were either part of a scheduled 10b5-1 plan or as a result of exercising options.

5. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. (SMG): $48.72

Shares of this lawn and garden care products company were sold by four insiders:

• CEO & Chairman James Hagedorn sold 60,004 shares at $48.58 per share, generating $2.91 million

• 10% owner Paul Hagedorn sold 118,477 shares at $48.58 per share, generating $5.76 million

• 10% owner Peter Hagedorn sold 8,019 shares at $48.58 per share, generating $389,526

These shares were sold indirectly through Hagedorn Partnership.

• EVP & CFO David Evans sold 26,795 shares at $49.04 per share, generating $1.31 million. 23,795 of these shares were sold as a result of exercising options.

Leave A Comment

Insider Weekends – August 20, 2010

August 22, 2010 | Insider Buying | Author Asif

Welcome to edition eleven of Insider Weekends. Insider buying increased last week with insiders purchasing $45.76 million of their stock when compared to $33.42 million in the week prior. Selling also increased significantly with insiders selling $1.01 billion worth of stock when compared to $820.41 million in the week prior.

Sell/Buy Ratio:

The insider Sell/Buy ratio is calculated by dividing the total insider sales in a given week by total insider buying in that week. The adjusted ratio for last week dropped to 22.04. In other words, insiders sold almost 22 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the week prior when the ratio stood at 24.55. We are calculating an adjusted ratio by removing transactions by funds and companies and trying as best as possible only to retain information about insiders and 10% owners who are not funds or companies.

Notable Insider Buys:

1. Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP (CLMT): $17.51

President and CEO William Ferdinand Grube acquired 775,000 shares of this specialty hydrocarbon products company, paying $17.65 per share for a total amount of $13.68 million.

This is by far the largest insider purchase we have seen in recent weeks. The purchase was actually made indirectly through a company called AEG Associates II, LLC. I looked up AEG Associates II on the Indiana Secretary of State website and found that the registered agent for both AEG Associates and AEG Associates II is Janet Krampe Grube, the wife of F. William Grube.

Besides this large purchase by Mr. Grube, two other insiders also purchased shares in May following a sharp decline in the stock price from nearly $22 to $15.49 in early May. EVP Jennifer Straumins purchased 15,600 shares for $255,030 and Director George C. Morris III purchased 23,500 shares for $421,580. Jennifer Straumins is Mr. Grube’s daughter.

Calumet Specialty Products is a Master Limited Partnership (MLP) with a 10.4% yield. MLPs are supposed to pay out 85 to 90% of their income as distributions to shareholders and shareholders are responsible for taxes instead of the corporation. If you are not familiar with MLPs and why investing in them in retirement accounts is not recommended, please check out this section of the November 2008 SINLetter.

2. Continental Resources Inc. (CLR): $41.31

Shares of this producer of crude oil and natural gas, were purchased by two insiders:

• CEO & Chairman Harold Hamm acquired 40,000 shares, paying $42.63 per share for a total amount of $1.71 million
• Sr. Vice President, Operations Richard Muncrief acquired 1,000 shares, paying $42.66 per share for a total amount of $42,660

3. CME Group Inc. (CME): $237.69

Director William Shepard acquired 5,000 shares of this national investment brokerage company, paying $245 per share for a total amount of $1.22 million

4. Emeritus Corp. (ESC): $16.14

Chairman & Co-CEO Daniel Baty acquired 50,000 shares of this operator of senior living communities, paying $16.12 per share for a total amount of $806,010.

5. Devon Energy Corporation (DVN): $62.14

Director Duane Radtke acquired 10,000 shares of this independent energy company, paying $63.24 per share for a total amount of $632,392. Mr. Radtke was appointed to the board of directors on August 16 and hence I would not read too much into this purchase.

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Crown Castle International Corp. (CCI): $40.6

Director David Abrams sold 2,099,748 shares of this wireless communications tower company for $40 per share generating $84 million. This is the third week in a row that Mr. Abrams has indirectly liquidated shares. Another director Robert McKenzie also sold $1.2 million worth of stock last week but that was an options related sale.

2. Mercadolibre, Inc. (MELI): $69.66

Two insiders sold shares of this Argentinian e-commerce and payments provider:

• Director Anton Levy sold 612,043 shares generating $42.35 million at an average selling price of $69.20. The last time Mr. Levy sold stock was in mid-June when he liquidated $40.67 million worth of stock at an average selling price of $58.03.
• SVP – Payments Gimenez Osvaldo sold 4,149 shares for $69.92, generating $290,098 from the sale.

3. Boston Properties Inc. (BXP): $81.23

Three insiders sold shares of this office REIT that yields just 2.5%:

• Chairman and CEO Mortimer Zuckerman sold 406,089 shares, generating $33.08 million at an average selling price of $81.45.
• Senior Vice President Robert Pester sold 10,912 shares for $83.43, generating $910,355.
• CFO Michael Labelle sold 2,123 shares for $81.32, generating $172,643 from the sale.

4. Aircastle LTD (AYR): $8.3

Three insiders sold shares of this jet rental and leasing company:

• Director Wesley Edens sold 3.9 million shares for $8.42, generating $32.84 million.
• Chief Accounting Officer Aaron Dahlke sold 5,000 shares for $8.95, generating $44,750.
• Director Ronald Merriman sold 4,500 shares for $8.95, generating $40,289.

5. Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (MRX): $27.06

Four insiders sold shares of this dermatological and aesthetic products company:

• CEO Jonah Shacknai. sold 400,000 shares for an average selling price of $26.55, generating $10.62 million.
• President Mark Prygocki sold 114,986 shares for $26.27, generating $3.02 million. 71,529 of those shares were sold as a result of exercising options.
• EVP, Sales and Marketing Vincent Ippolito sold 13,012 shares for $26.90, generating $349,969.
• CFO Jeffrey Campbell sold 8,435 shares for $26.50, generating $223,528.

Leave A Comment

Insider Weekends – August 13, 2010

August 15, 2010 | Insider Buying | Author Asif

Welcome to edition ten of Insider Weekends. Insider buying decreased last week with insiders purchasing $33.42 million of their stock when compared to $37.65 million in the week prior. Selling held steady with insiders selling $820.41 million worth of stock when compared to $821.45 million in the week prior.

Sell/Buy Ratio:

The insider Sell/Buy ratio is calculated by dividing the total insider sales in a given week by total insider buying in that week. The adjusted ratio for last week went up to 24.55. In other words, insiders sold almost 25 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the week prior when the ratio stood at 21.82. We are calculating an adjusted ratio by removing transactions by funds and companies and trying as best as possible only to retain information about insiders and 10% owners who are not funds or companies.

Clusters:

The biggest cluster of insider sales last week was by the insiders of for-profit education company Bridgepoint Education (BPI) where six insiders sold $8.39 million worth of stock. The for-profit education sector has recently been the target of increased regulatory oversight related to their use of financial aid and their loan practices. The biggest cluster of insider purchases last week was by the insiders of MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) where four insiders purchased $1.22 million worth of stock. This follows purchases by three additional insiders including the CFO last week. Shares of WFR had fallen to a fresh 52 week low two weeks ago after second quarter results were announced.

Notable Insider Buys:

1. Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM): $44.22

Shares of this internet content delivery company were purchased by two insiders last week. This follows a 25,000 share purchase by Director David Kenny last week.

• Director Peter Kight acquired 47,950 shares, paying $41.7 per share for a total amount of $1,999,515.
• President and CEO Paul Sagan acquired 15,000 shares, paying $39.52 per share for a total amount of $592,800.

2. Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc. (BPFH): $6.2

Shares of this Boston based bank holding company were purchased by two insiders.

• CEO & President Clayton Deutsch acquired 273,501 shares, paying $6.59 per share for a total amount of $1.8 million. Mr. Deutsch, a senior partner at management consulting firm McKinsey, was appointed CEO of BPFH on June 8, 2010.
• Director Allen Sinai acquired 300 shares, paying $6.39 per share for a total amount of $1,917.

3. Cymer Inc. (CYMI): $30.53

Director Eric Ruttenberg acquired 50,000 shares of this semiconductor equipment & materials company, paying $33.6 per share for a total amount of $1.68 million. Mr. Ruttenberg is co-managing member of New York based fund Tinicum Capital Partners and Cymer is making our list for a third week in a row.

4. Columbia Sportswear Company (COLM): $47.85

Director Stephen Babson acquired 29,402 shares of this Portland, Oregon based apparel company, paying $49.39 per share for a total amount of $1.45 million. Columbia’s hiking shoes were a personal favorite of mine during my years in the Pacific Northwest.

5. MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (WFR): $10.47

Shares of this manufacturer and seller of wafers were purchased by four insiders:

• President & CEO Ahmad Chatila acquired 51,227 shares, paying $9.76 per share for a total amount of $499,976.
• EVP & President of the Semiconductor Materials division Chandrasekhar Sadasivam acquired 50,000 shares, paying $9.91 per share for a total amount of $495,500.
• EVP & President of the SunEdison division Carlos Domenech acquired 20,000 shares, paying $10.32 per share for a total amount of $206,400.
• SVP Legal & Bus Dev. Bradley Kohn acquired 2,000 shares, paying $9.8 per share for a total amount of $19,600.

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Crown Castle International Corp. (CCI): $38.76

Director David Abrams sold 1,156,878 shares of this diversified communication services provider for $40.76 per share generating $47.15 million. Mr. Abrams and another director also sold $47.15 million worth of stock in the week prior.

2. Intrepid Potash, Inc. (IPI): $23.55

Shares of this potash mining company were sold by two insiders:

• Executive Chairman of the Board Robert Jornayvaz sold 750,000 shares for $24.5 per share generating $1.84 million.
• Director Hugh E Harvey Jr sold 750,000 shares for $24.5 per share generating $1.84 million

3. Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (ACOR): $32.3

Shares of this biopharmaceutical company were sold by four insiders:

• Director Sandra Panem sold 215,000 shares for $35.85 per share, generating $7.7 million
• President and CEO Ron Cohen sold 55,000 shares for $35.93 per share, generating $1.98 million
• Director Steven Rauscher sold 30,000 shares for $36.21 per share, generating $1.08 million
• Director Lorin Randall sold 5,000 shares for $33.52 per share, generating $167,600

4. Cinemark Holdings Inc. (CNK): $15.51

Shares of this motion picture exhibitor were sold by three insiders:

• Director Raymond Syufy sold 575,000 shares for $15.90 per share, generating $9.14 million
• President & CEO Timothy Warner sold 96,474 shares for $16.55 per share, generating $1.6 million
• SVP – Real Estate Tom Owens sold 4,800 shares for $16.6 per share, generating $79,668

5. Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (BPI): $13.51

Shares of this for-profit education company were sold by six insiders:

• CEO Andrew Clark sold 150,297 shares for $15.40 per share, generating $2.3 million
• SVP, Chief Admin. Officer Rodney Sheng sold 100,000 shares for $15.33 per share, generating $1.53 million
• SVP, Chief Academic Officer Jane McAuliffe sold 90,000 shares for $16.19 per share, generating $1.46 million
• SVP, Chief Marketing Officer Ross Woodard sold 86,697 shares for $15.37 per share, generating $1.35 million
• CFO Daniel Devine sold 59,853 shares for $15.41 per share, generating $922,300
• SVP, Chief Admissions Officer Chirstopher Spohn sold 52,116 shares for $15.74 per share, generating $820,238

Voluntary Disclosure: I have a long position in WFR.

Contributing author: Ann Kumar.

Leave A Comment

Insider Weekends – August 06, 2010

August 7, 2010 | Insider Buying | Author Asif

Welcome to edition nine of Insider Weekends. Insider buying increased once again last week with insiders purchasing $37.65 million of their stock when compared to $13.42 million in the week prior. Selling also increased with insiders selling $821.45 million worth of stock when compared to $498.22 million in the week prior.

Sell/Buy Ratio:

The insider Sell/Buy ratio is calculated by dividing the total insider sales in a given week by total insider buying in that week. The adjusted ratio for last week dropped once again to 21.82. In other words, insiders sold almost 22 times as much stock as they purchased.

The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the week prior when the ratio stood at 37.11 (32.97 without the AutoZone sales). We are calculating an adjusted ratio by removing transactions by funds and companies and trying as best as possible only to retain information about insiders and 10% owners who are not funds or companies.

Notable Insider Buys:

1. Dynex Capital Inc. (DX): $9.98

Shares of this Real Estate Investment Trust were purchased by four insiders. These purchases were part of a $5 million offering.

• Chairman & CEO Thomas Akin acquired 150,000 shares, paying $9.43 per share for a total amount of $1.4 million
• Chief Investment Officer Byron Boston acquired 4,000 shares, paying $9.43 per share for a total amount of $37,720
• EVP,COO & CFO Stephen Benedetti acquired 3,000 shares, paying $9.43 per share for a total amount of $28,290
• Director Leon Felman acquired 4,000 shares, paying $9.43 per share for a total amount of $37,720

2. Cymer Inc. (CYMI): $33.97

Director Eric Ruttenberg acquired 33,000 shares of this semiconductor equipment manufacturer, paying $33.5 per share for a total amount of $1.1 million. This follows a 17,000 share purchase as discussed in the last Insider Weekends post. Mr. Ruttenberg is co-managing member of New York based fund Tinicum Capital Partners.

3. MDC Partners Inc. (MDCA): $12.64

Shares of this marketing communications services provider were purchased by two insiders:

• Chairman, CEO & President Miles Nadal acquired 75,788 shares, paying $12.37 per share for a total amount of $937,407
• Vice Chairman Stephen Pustil acquired 5,000 shares, paying $12.45 per share for a total amount of $62,250

4. Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (HLX): $10.64

President & CEO Owen Kratz acquired 103,500 shares of this international offshore energy company, paying $9.62 per share for a total amount of $995,160.

5. Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM): $39.9

Director David Kenny acquired 25,000 shares of this internet content delivery company, paying $38.78 per share for a total amount of $969,500.

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Crown Castle International Corp. (CCI): $40.54

Stocks of this diversified communication services provider were sold by two insiders:

• Director John Kelly sold 150,000 shares for $41.01 per share, generating $6.15 million
• Director David Abrams sold 1 million shares for $41 per share, generating $41 million

Mr. Kelly also sold an additional 149,600 shares but that sale was as a result of exercising options.

2. Ford Motor Co. (F): $13.04

With Ford swinging to a profit, Executive Chairman William Ford Jr. is now collecting a salary for the first time in 5 years and also decided to sell some Ford stock along with one other insider.

• Director Edsel Ford II sold 179,000 shares for $13.05 per share, generating $2.34 million
• Chairman Clay William Ford Jr. sold 3,527,854 shares for $12.95 per share, generating $45.69 million. Nearly half of Mr. Ford’s shares were sold as a result of exercising options.

3. Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN): $91.52

Shares of this developer, owner and operator of destination casino resorts were sold by two insiders:

• Director Elaine Wynn sold 147,383 shares for $89.11 per share, generating $13.13 million
• Linda Chen, President Wynn International Marketing, sold 30,000 shares for $92.03 per share, generating $2.76 million

4. Herbalife Ltd. (HLF): $56.49

Chief Operating Officer Richard Goudis sold 262,500 shares of this weight management and nutritional supplement company for $54.5 per share, generating $14.31 million.

5. Isilon Systems, Inc. (ISLN): $17.8

Shares of this Network Attached Storage (NAS) systems were sold by two directors. A number of other insiders including the CFO also sold stock but those sales were a result of option exercises.

• Director Barry Fidelmen sold 764,990 shares for $17.95 per share, generating $13.73 million. These shares were sold indirectly through the Atlas Venture Fund. Mr. Fidelmen is a Partner of Atlas Venture.
• Director Matthew McIlwain sold 12,500 shares for $17.31 per share, generating $216,395.

Contributing Author: Ann Kumar

2 comments