Insider Weekends – May 06, 2011

  • May 8, 2011

Welcome to edition forty eight of Insider Weekends. Insider buying increased with insiders purchasing $12.14 million of their stock last week when compared to $4.14 million in the week prior. Selling also increased with insiders selling $1.69 billion worth of stock compared to $774.04 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 purchases that week. The adjusted ratio for last week dropped down to 139.37. In other words, insiders sold more than 139 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the week prior when the ratio stood at 186.75. 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.

Insider Sell Buy Ratio May 6, 2011
Insider Sell Buy Ratio May 6, 2011

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. Calix Inc. (CALX): $21.83

Director Donald J. Listwin acquired 50,000 shares of this communication equipment company, paying $20.97 per share for a total amount of $1.05 million. Mr. Listwin increased his stake by 11.05% to 502,464 shares with this purchase.

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

P/E: N/AForward P/E: 17.19Industry P/E: 16.67
P/S: 3.02Price/Book: 3.12EV/EBITDA: 1.16
Market Cap: $988.35MAvg. Daily Volume: 364,92252 Week Range: $9.57 – $22.53

2. Valhi, Inc. (VHI): $31.97

Chairman of the Board Harold C. Simmons acquired 16,096 shares of this chemicals and components products company, paying $31.40 per share for a total amount of $505,438. These shares were acquired indirectly through Kronos Worldwide Inc. Mr. Simmons is also the Chairman of Kronos Worldwide.

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

P/E: 76.12Forward P/E: N/AIndustry P/E: 18.04
P/S: 2.19Price/Book: N/AEV/EBITDA: 26.08
Market Cap: $3.62BAvg. Daily Volume: 23,83252 Week Range: $11.03 – $32.25

3. Unifi Inc. (UFI): $15.55

Director Kenneth G. Langone acquired 25,000 shares of this textile company, paying $15.16 per share for a total amount of $378,940. Mr. Langone increased his stake by 3.33% to 775,000 shares with this purchase.

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

P/E: 18.71Forward P/E: N/AIndustry P/E: 6.6
P/S: 0.45Price/Book: 1.07EV/EBITDA: 8.39
Market Cap: $312.07MAvg. Daily Volume: 90,59852 Week Range: $9.9 – $19.87

4. Superior Energy Services Inc. (SPN): $35.42

Chief Executive Officer David D. Dunlap acquired 10,000 shares of this oil & gas equipment & services company, paying $34.88 per share for a total amount of $348,781. Mr. Dunlap increased his stake by 8.77% to 123,994 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Superior Energy Services Inc. here.

P/E: 34.39Forward P/E: 12.43Industry P/E: 19.75
P/S: 1.66Price/Book: 2.18EV/EBITDA: 8.65
Market Cap: $2.79BAvg. Daily Volume: 974,96452 Week Range: $18.02 – $41.65

5. China TransInfo Technology Corp. (CTFO): $4.6

CEO and President Shudong Xia acquired 58,600 shares of this application software company, paying $4.68 per share for a total amount of $274,497. Mr. Xia increased his stake by 19.51% to 359,000 shares with this purchase.

Mr. Xia has been actively buying shares since March even as the stock has remained under pressure from the Chinese reverse merger fallout.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for China TransInfo Technology Corp. here.

P/E: 7.3Forward P/E: 4.47Industry P/E: 26.46
P/S: 0.95Price/Book: 1.22EV/EBITDA: 3.92
Market Cap: $116.24MAvg. Daily Volume: 78,92952 Week Range: $4.13 – $7.95

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Discovery Communications, Inc. (DISCA): $44.66

Shares of this media and entertainment company were sold by 4 insiders:

  • Director John C. Malone sold 553,174 shares for $39.40, generating $21.8 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by a Trust.
  • Chief Dev Officer & General Counsel Bruce Campbell sold 172,984 shares for $44.25, generating $7.7 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
  • Chief Operating Officer Peter Liguori sold 26,216 shares for $44.28, generating $1.2 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
  • EVP & Chief Accounting Officer Thomas Colan sold 9,195 shares for $43.77, generating $402,465 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.

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

P/E: 23.98Forward P/E: 15.89Industry P/E: 19.12
P/S: 4.67Price/Book: 2.81EV/EBITDA: 13.4
Market Cap: $18.22BAvg. Daily Volume: 1,577,99052 Week Range: $34.7 – $45.42

2. Under Armour, Inc. (UA): $66

Shares of this sports apparel chain were sold by 2 insiders:

  • President and CEO Kevin A. Plank sold 281,250 shares for $65.89, generating $18.53 million from the sale. These shares were Class B shares that were automatically converted to Class A shares before the sale.
  • EVP of Business Development J Scott Plank sold 93,750 shares for $65.89, generating $6.2 million from the sale.

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

P/E: 46.28Forward P/E: 31.28Industry P/E: 14.66
P/S: 2.92Price/Book: 6.38EV/EBITDA: 21.66
Market Cap: $3.40BAvg. Daily Volume: 919,70252 Week Range: $29.12 – $80

3. The Blackstone Group (BX): $17.81

President and COO Hamilton E. James sold 1,250,000 shares of this private equity firm for $18.94, generating $23.68 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a limited liability company of which Mr. James and his spouse are beneficial owners.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for The Blackstone Group here.

P/E: N/AForward P/E: 8.65Industry P/E: 15.53
P/S: 2.28Price/Book: 1.69EV/EBITDA: N/A
Market Cap: $8.06BAvg. Daily Volume: 4,139,08052 Week Range: $8.93 – $19.63

4. Acme Packet, Inc. (APKT): $76.83

Shares of this communication equipment company were sold by 3 insiders:

  • Director Gary J. Bowen sold 200,000 shares for $83.40, generating $16.68 million from the sale.
  • Chief Technology Officer Patrick J. Melampy sold 39,700 shares for $74.36, generating $2.95 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by the MeLampy Lawrence Family Trust.
  • VP Professional Services Erin Medeiros sold 7,000 shares for $74.83, generating $523,797 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.

This stock has been on a tear for some time now and has seen heavy insider selling in recent weeks.

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

P/E: 111.51Forward P/E: 50.88Industry P/E: 16.67
P/S: 19.68Price/Book: 13.85EV/EBITDA: 56.81
Market Cap: $5.03BAvg. Daily Volume: 2,413,46052 Week Range: $23.53 – $84.5

5. St. Jude Medical Inc. (STJ): $52.36

Shares of this medical appliances & equipment company were sold by 6 insiders:

  • Chairman, CEO & President Daniel J. Starks sold 100,000 shares for $53.58, generating $5.36 million from the sale.
  • Group President Michael T. Rousseau sold 75,000 shares for $53.60, generating $4.02 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
  • Executive VP & CFO John C. Heinmiller sold 52,100 shares for $53.51, generating $2.79 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
  • President, CRMD Eric S. Fain sold 36,800 shares for $53.56, generating $1.97 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
  • VP, General Counsel & Sec. Pamela Sue Krop sold 32,500 shares for $52.41, generating $1.7 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
  • President, Cardiovascular Div Frank J. Callaghan sold 20,000 shares for $54.00, generating $1.08 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for St. Jude Medical Inc. here.

P/E: 19.18Forward P/E: 14.19Industry P/E: 25.86
P/S: 3.26Price/Book: 3.79EV/EBITDA: 12.26
Market Cap: $17.22BAvg. Daily Volume: 3,455,65052 Week Range: $34.25 – $54.18

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