Insiders may buy shares of a company because they believe its
stock price will move higher and want to profit from this
anticipated rise. Sell-offs might provide an opportunity for
insiders who have faith in a company to snatch up shares. Below
are some stocks that have recently seen insider buying.
Cyberonics
(NASDAQ:
CYBX
): A vice president and a director recently purchased a combined
50,000 shares, worth more than $1.6 million. Last week, Jim
Cramer recommended buying shares of this Houston-based medical
device maker. It has a return on equity of 20.1%, long-term
earnings per share (
EPS
) share forecast of 28.3%, and operating margin higher than
industry average. Shares have pulled back a bit from a recent
52-week high but are still trading more than 30% higher year to
date. The stock has outperformed Medtronic (see below) and the
broader markets over the past six months.
Medtronic
(NYSE:
MDT
): A director for this Minneapolis-based medical device maker
purchased more than 5,000 shares last week. That purchase was
worth over $197,000. The market capitalization of this S&P
500 component is around $38 billion. Also last week, the company
boosted its dividend by 7.2%. The firm's return on equity is
20.6% and its price-to-earnings (PE) ratio is less than the
industry average. Shares have traded mostly between $36 and $40
since December. Over the past six months, the stock has
underperformed competitors Boston Scientific (NYSE:
BSX
) and St. Jude Medical (NYSE:
STJ
).
See also:
Supreme Court Decision Looms; How to Trade the
Obamacare Ruling
EXCO Resources
(NYSE:
XCO
): Activist investor Wilbur L. Ross Jr. has purchased about 3.9
million shares in June. These purchases were worth more than $26
million. Analysts expect this Dallas-based independent oil and
natural gas company to post a penny per share loss for the second
quarter. This expected penny loss per share is the same as the
actual loss per share reported for the company's first quarter.
EXCO has a market cap above $1 billion and a short interest
around 16.5% of the float. Though EXCO's share price is up
slightly over the previous seven days, year to date it is more
than 30% lower. The stock has underperformed competitors such as
SandRidge Energy (NYSE:
SD
) and Encana (NYSE:
ECA
), as well as the broader markets, since the beginning of the
year.
Opko Health
(NYSE:
OPK
): The chairman continues to periodically buy batches of shares,
as he has done since last November. He bought 100,000 shares,
worth more than $480,000, in the past week. This Miami-based
health care company has a market cap of above $1 billion. Short
interest is a hefty 23.3% of the float. Shares have traded mostly
between $4.40 and $5.40 since November. At Monday's close, Opko's
share price was more than 6% lower year to date. Over the past
six months, the stock has underperformed competitors such as
Allergan (NYSE:
AGN
) and the broader markets.
See also:
The Opko Health Battle: High Short Interest
with Heavy Insider Buying
Snyder's-Lance
(NASDAQ:
LNCE
): The chairman of the board has purchased more than 57,000
shares of this Hanover, Pennsylvania-based snack-food maker in
June. That purchase was worth more than $1.4 million. Earlier
this month, the company announced the acquisition of a
Georgia-based snack-food distributor. Snyder's-Lance has a market
cap of about $1.6 billion and a long-term EPS growth forecast
close to 14.0%. As of Monday's close, shares had pulled back
about 9% from a multiyear high in May. The stock has outperformed
Kraft Foods (NYSE:
KFT
) and PepsiCo (NYSE:
PEP
) over the past six months.
See also:
Snyder's-Lance Acquires O'Byrne Distributing;
Terms Not Disclosed
United Therapeutics
(NASDAQ:
UTHR
): Some 34,000 shares, worth more than $1.5 million, were
purchased in June by the chief executive of this Maryland-based
biotechnology company. The company has a market cap near $2.5
billion. Analysts predict that this company will report an
approximate 16% rise in revenues for both the current quarter and
the full year. The return on equity is 27.2%. The share price
jumped about 9% in mid-June but has faced resistance near $48 in
the past week. Over the past six months, shares of United
Therapeutic have underperformed shares of competitors, such as
Allergan and Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:
GLD
), as well as the broader markets.
See also:
United Therapeutics: Meeting Unmet Clinical
Needs
ACTION ITEMS:
Bullish:
Investors interested in exchange traded funds focused on
insider sentiment might want to consider the following trades.
As of Monday's close, both were essentially flat year to
date.
- Guggenheim Insider Sentiment (NYSE:
NFO
)
- Direxion All Cap Insider Sentiment Shares (NYSE:
KNOW
)
Bearish:
Traders may prefer to consider these alternative positions
to some of the stocks listed above:
- NuVasive (NASDAQ:
NUVA
) is up more than 80% year to date.
- Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:
EW
) is up more than 40% year to date.
- Cobalt International Energy (NYSE:
CIE
) is up more than 30% year to date.
- Flowers Foods (NYSE:
FLO
) is up more than 20% year to date.
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