In trading on Friday, shares of B. Riley Financial Inc (Symbol: RILY) touched a new 52-week low of $29.60/share. That's a $43.50 share price drop, or -59.51% decline from the 52-week high of $73.10 set back on 03/29/2022. Large percentage drops always require that the stock post even larger percentage gains from the low in order to recover the old price point, and for RILY that means the stock would have to gain 146.96% to get back to the 52-week high. For a move like that, B. Riley Financial Inc would need fundamental strength at the business level.
Here's a rhetorical question: Who knows more about fundamentals at the business level than the company's own insiders? So let's take a look to see whether any company insiders were taking the other side of the trade as RILY shares were being sold down to this new 52-week low, focusing on the most recent trailing six month period. As summarized by the table below, RILY has seen 7 different instances of insiders buying over the past six months.
| Purchased | Insider | Title | Shares | Price/Share | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09/14/2022 | Bryant R. Riley | Chairman and Co-CEO | 29,000 | $47.49 | $1,377,106.70 |
| 09/16/2022 | Randall E. Paulson | Director | 5,892 | $46.92 | $276,459.71 |
| 09/16/2022 | Bryant R. Riley | Chairman and Co-CEO | 8,509 | $46.83 | $398,452.64 |
| 11/30/2022 | Randall E. Paulson | Director | 2,600 | $42.84 | $111,374.90 |
| 12/05/2022 | Bryant R. Riley | Chairman and Co-CEO | 51,514 | $43.93 | $2,263,135.62 |
| 12/15/2022 | Bryant R. Riley | Chairman and Co-CEO | 63,527 | $41.31 | $2,624,145.32 |
| 12/16/2022 | Bryant R. Riley | Chairman and Co-CEO | 120,000 | $40.13 | $4,815,612.00 |
| 12/16/2022 | Michael Joseph Sheldon | Director | 10,026 | $39.86 | $399,627.34 |
| 12/16/2022 | Renee E. Labran | Director | 247 | $40.40 | $9,977.81 |
| 12/29/2022 | Bryant R. Riley | Chairman and Co-CEO | 26,564 | $33.24 | $883,113.51 |
| 12/28/2022 | Tamara Sue Brandt | Director | 625 | $32.01 | $20,006.25 |
| 01/09/2023 | Randall E. Paulson | Director | 20,000 | $37.22 | $744,346.00 |
| 02/08/2023 | Andrew Moore | CEO B. Riley Securities, Inc. | 20,000 | $38.75 | $774,928.00 |
| 02/08/2023 | Bryant R. Riley | Chairman and Co-CEO | 135,923 | $40.18 | $5,460,788.08 |
| 02/09/2023 | Agostino Robert P. D | Director | 12,500 | $40.59 | $507,396.25 |
| 02/09/2023 | Renee E. Labran | Director | 250 | $39.97 | $9,992.50 |
| 02/23/2023 | Randall E. Paulson | Director | 10,000 | $36.85 | $368,495.00 |
| 02/24/2023 | Andrew Moore | CEO B. Riley Securities, Inc. | 10,000 | $36.78 | $367,774.00 |
| 03/07/2023 | Bryant R. Riley | Chairman and Co-CEO | 19,000 | $40.53 | $770,073.85 |
In the short run, while the new 52-week low suggests the stock is at the cheapest price and perhaps therefore the best bargain it has been over the last 52 weeks, the low print also means anyone who has purchased the stock over that timeframe is staring at an unrealized loss. Oftentimes, that factor drives a stock's technical analysis metrics by creating overhead resistance, with investors who bought higher now anxious to reverse their trade once they are back to breakeven. The chart below shows where RILY has traded over the past year, with the 50-day and 200-day moving averages included.
Time will tell whether the insider purchases foretell a future rebound for RILY shares, which are presently showing a last trade of $33.65/share, a 13.68% rebound off of the new 52-week low.
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