Insider Weekends – CEO of Continental Resources Makes a $3.2 Million Purchase

Welcome to edition 354 of Insider Weekends. Insider buying decreased with insiders buying $77.54 million of stock compared to $176.83 million in the week prior. Selling also decreased with insiders selling $514.22 million of stock last week compared to $1.23 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 purchases that week. The adjusted ratio for last week dropped to 6.63. In other words, insiders sold almost 7 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 6.94.

Note: As mentioned in the first post in this series, certain industries have their preferred metrics such as same store sales for retailers, funds from operations (FFO) for REITs and revenue per available room (RevPAR) for hotels that provide a better basis for comparison than simple valuation metrics. However metrics like Price/Earnings, Price/Sales and Enterprise Value/EBITDA included below should provide a good starting point for analyzing the majority of stocks.

Notable Insider Buys:

1. Continental Resources, Inc. (CLR): $45.42

CEO & Chairman Harold Hamm acquired 74,983 shares of this oil & gas company, paying $42.60 per share for a total amount of $3.19 million. Mr. Hamm increased his stake by 7.74% to 1,044,092 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Continental Resources, Inc. here.

2. National General Holdings Corp. (NGHC): $23.76

Shares of this insurance company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• CEO and President Barry Karfunkel acquired 81,578 shares, paying $22.89 per share for a total amount of $1.87 million. Mr. Karfunkel increased his stake by 2334.13% to 85,073 shares with this purchase.
• Executive Vice President Robert Karfunkel acquired 50,000 shares, paying $22.94 per share for a total amount of $1.15 million. Mr. Karfunkel increased his stake by 1420.05% to 53,521 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for National General Holdings Corp. here.

3. Ford Motor Company (F): $11.64

Exec. Chairman and Chairman William Clay Ford Jr. acquired 171,379 shares of Ford Motor Company, paying $11.67 per share for a total amount of $1.99 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Ford Motor Company here.

4. Seritage Growth Properties (SRG): $43.15

10% owner Bruce R. Berkowitz purchased 20,000 shares of this retail REIT, paying $42.84 per share for a total amount of $856,800. These shares were acquired in accounts managed indirectly by Mr. Berkowitz.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Seritage Growth Properties here.

5. Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (TLF): $8.2

Director James C. Pappas acquired 71,739 shares of this retailer and a wholesale distributor of a range of leather and related products, paying $8.01 per share for a total amount of $574,568. These shares were purchased indirectly by JCP Investment Partnership, LP.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. here.

You can view the full list of purchases from this Insider Buying page.

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Facebook, Inc. (FB): $142.05

Shares of Facebook were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Jan Koum sold 243,929 shares for $140.29, generating $34.22 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• VP and General Counsel Colin Stretch sold 750 shares for $140.57, generating $105,431 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Facebook, Inc. here.

2. Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI): $49.86

Director Brian G. Kelly sold 420,063 shares of this video game software company for $49.90, generating $20.96 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Activision Blizzard, Inc. here.

3. Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST): $167.69

Director James D. Sinegal sold 100,000 shares of this warehouse retailer for $166.35, generating $16.64 million from the sale. 50,000 of these shares were sold indirectly by an LLC.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Costco Wholesale Corporation here.

4. The Gap, Inc. (GPS): $24.29

Director Robert J. Fisher sold 500,000 shares of this apparel chain for $24.58, generating $12.29 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for The Gap, Inc. here.

5. WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (WVE): $27.5

Director Masaharu Tanaka sold 433,825 shares of this genetic medicines company for $24.91, generating $10.81 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by Kagoshima Shinsangyo Sousei Investment Limited Partnership.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. here.

You can view the full list of sales from this Insider Sales page.

Disclaimer: I hold a long position in The Gap (GPS). Please do your own due diligence before buying or selling any securities mentioned in this article. We do not warrant the completeness or accuracy of the content or data provided in this article.

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