Insider Weekends – August 13, 2010

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.