Insider Weekends – March 18, 2011

Welcome to edition forty one of Insider Weekends. Insider buying increased significantly with insiders purchasing $204.8 million of their stock last week when compared to $23.28 million in the week prior. This big jump in insider buying was primarily driven by a $150 million purchase by the founder and CEO of Dell as discussed below. Selling dropped with insiders selling $1.06 billion worth of stock when compared to $1.53 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 5.2. In other words, insiders sold more than 5 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the week prior when the ratio stood at 65.55. 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.

Note: As mentioned in the first post in this series Introduction to Insider Weekends, 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. Dell Inc. (DELL): $14.51

Chairman and CEO Michael S. Dell acquired 10.437 million shares of Dell, paying $14.37 per share for a total amount of $150.02 million. Mr. Dell increased his stake by 4.48% to 243.35 million shares with this purchase.

This follows a $100 million purchase by him in mid-December. Two other directors also purchased shares over the last six months.

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

2. Deer Consumer Products, Inc. (DEER): $11.04

Chief Executive Officer Ying He acquired 250,000 shares of this small home and kitchen appliances manufacturer, paying $11.01 per share for a total amount of $2.75 million.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Deer Consumer Products, Inc. here.

3. NuStar GP Holdings, LLC (NSH): $34.92

Director William E. Greehey acquired 74,270 shares of this asphalt refinery and oil pipeline company, paying $34.89 per share for a total amount of $2.59 million. Mr. Greehey increased his stake by 1.03% to 7,258,073 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for NuStar GP Holdings, LLC here.

4. W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (WPC): $34.82

Director Benjamin H. Griswold acquired 60,036 shares of this property management company, paying $34.40 per share for a total amount of $2.06 million. Mr. Griswold increased his stake by 124.21% to 108,369 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for W. P. Carey & Co. LLC here.

5. Inland Real Estate Corp. (IRC): $9.2

Director Daniel L. Goodwin acquired 165,900 shares of this shopping centers and retail REIT, paying $9.22 per share for a total amount of $1.53 million. Mr. Goodwin increased his stake by 1.49% to 11,281,907 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Inland Real Estate Corp. here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. First Solar, Inc. (FSLR): $149.66

Director Michael J. Ahearn sold 330,000 shares of this solar energy company for $150.43, generating $49.64 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through an annuity trust.

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

2. Bruker Corporation (BRKR): $18.77

Shares of this scientific & technical instruments company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Joerg C. Laukien sold 936,525 shares for $18.35, generating $17.18 million from the sale.
• Director Dirk D. Laukien sold 936,525 shares for $18.35, generating $17.18 million from the sale.

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

3. 3D Systems Corp. (TDSC): $43.52

Shares of this 3D printing and manufacturing company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Kevin S. Moore sold 680,000 shares for $41.80, generating $28.42 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by various investment accounts for which The Clark Estates, Inc., provides administrative and management services.
• EVP, Chief Technology Officer Charles W. Hull sold 60,000 shares for $41.80, generating $2.51 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for 3D Systems Corp. here.

4. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NOG): $28.25

Shares of this oil & gas company were sold by 3 insiders:

• CEO Michael Lewis Reger sold 794,913 shares for $28.76, generating 22.86 million from the sale.
• CFO Chad D. Winter sold 45,624 shares for $28.87, generating $1.32 million from the sale.
• President Ryan Randall Gilbertson sold 37,291 shares for $28.85, generating $1.08 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. here.

5. Intrepid Potash, Inc. (IPI): $33.52

Director Hugh E. Harvey sold 540,271 shares of this fertilizer company for $33.79, generating $18.25 million from the sale.

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

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