Insider Weekends – March 16, 2012

Welcome to edition ninety three of Insider Weekends. Insider buying declined with insiders purchasing $42.7 million of their stock last week compared to $61.15 million in the week prior. Selling on the other hand increased with insiders selling $1.75 billion worth of stock last week compared to $1.61 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 went up to 41. In other words, insiders sold 41 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the week prior when the ratio stood at 26.35. 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. Sohu.com Inc. (SOHU): $53.88

Chief Operating Officer Xin Wang acquired 60,000 shares of this Chinese online media company, paying $49.43 per share for a total amount of $2.97 million. Mr. Wang increased his stake by 200% to 90,000 shares with this purchase.

This is the first insider purchase we have seen at Sohu since we started tracking insider data two years ago. The stock is trading close to its 52 week low and trades for 3.5 times EBITDA. Reaction to this purchase that came in last Monday was initially muted but then the stock posted a gain of 5.5% on Friday.

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

2. Furiex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (FURX): $24.35

Director Fredric N. Eshelman acquired 97,809 shares of this drug development collaboration company, paying $23.07 per share for a total amount of $2.3 million. Mr. Eshelman increased his stake by 4.70% to 2,180,933 shares with this purchase. A number of insiders have purchased shares since last September when the stock was trading for just $14.95. Mr. Eshelman has been consistently buying since last Fall.

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

3. China Information Technology (CNIT): $1.05

President and CEO Jiang Huai Lin acquired 1,084,895 shares of this Chinese application software company, paying $1.20 per share for a total amount of $1.3 million. Mr. Lin increased his stake by 9.79% to 12,163,355 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for China Information Technology, I here.

4. Lance, Inc. (LNCE): $24.14

Director Michael A. Warehime acquired 40,298 shares of this packaged snacks manufacturer, paying $23.31 per share for a total amount of $939,379. Mr. Warehime increased his stake by 0.45% to 8,909,928 shares with this purchase. These shares were jointly acquired by Mr. Warehime and his wife Patricia Warehime.

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

5. The Cheesecake Factory (CAKE): $31.19

Director Herbert Simon acquired 25,000 shares of this restaurant chain, paying $30.70 per share for a total amount of $767,413. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

As you can see from this page, there have been a number of options related sales at Cheesecake Factory but also a trio of insider purchases last August, which included a purchase by the CFO. With only 170 restaurants in 35 states, the company still has a lot of room to grow.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for The Cheesecake Factory Incorpor here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Tesla Motors, Inc. (TSLA): $35.32

Shares of this electric car manufacturer were sold by 4 insiders:

• Director Antonio J. Gracias sold 585,105 shares for $35.67, generating $20.9 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by Valor Equity Management.
• General Counsel Eric S. Whitaker sold 56,666 shares for $34.99, generating $1.9 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• CTO Jeffrey B. Straubel sold 5,000 shares for $35.00, generating $175,000 from the sale.
• VP- Manufacturing Gilbert Passin sold 300 shares for $35.00, generating $10,500 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 Tesla Motors, Inc. here.

2. InvenSense, Inc. (INVN): $20.1

President, CEO, Chairman Steven Saeed Nasiri sold 1,300,000 shares of this manufacturer of motion sensing systems for $14.85, generating $19.3 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

The company raised $75 million in an IPO priced at $7.50/share last November.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for InvenSense, Inc. Common Stock here.

3. Cerner Corporation (CERN): $76.93

Shares of this healthcare services company were sold by 3 insiders:

• Vice Chairman Clifford W. Illig sold 200,000 shares for $76.59, generating $15.3 million from the sale.
• Executive VP & COO Michael Nill sold 25,000 shares for $75.96, generating $1.9 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Chairman, CEO & President Neal L. Patterson sold 2,500 shares for $75.93, generating $189,825 from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by Mr. Patterson’s spouse.

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

4. Reynolds American Inc (RAI): $41.35

Shares of this cigarettes manufacturer were sold by 11 insiders:

• President & CEO Daniel M. Delen sold 104,752 shares for $41.99, generating $4.4 million from the sale.
• EVP & Chief Financial Officer Thomas R. Adams sold 70,136 shares for $42.00, generating $2.9 million from the sale.
• EVP & Chief HR Officer Lisa J. Caldwell sold 49,424 shares for $41.98, generating $2.1 million from the sale.
• SVP-Strategy & Planning – RJRT Walton T. Carpenter sold 30,220 shares for $41.99, generating $1.3 million from the sale.
• SVP & Treasurer Daniel A. Fawley sold 19,876 shares for $41.99, generating $834,664 from the sale.
• SVP – Strategy & Business Development E Kenan Whitehurst sold 18,685 shares for $41.81, generating $781,208 from the sale.
• EVP-Operations & CSO of RJRTC Jeffery S. Gentry sold 15,299 shares for $41.99, generating $642,478 from the sale.
• SVP, Deputy GC & Secretary McDara Folan sold 13,500 shares for $41.98, generating $566,790 from the sale.
• President & CCO of RJRT Andrew D. Gilchrist sold 12,585 shares for $41.99, generating $528,467 from the sale.
• SVP & Chief Accounting Officer Frederick W. Smothers sold 7,146 shares for $41.99, generating $300,076 from the sale.
• EVP, Gen. Counsel & Assistant Secretary Martin L. Holton sold 4,766 shares for $41.99, generating $200,118 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Reynolds American Inc Common St here.

5. Western Refining Inc. (WNR): $20.01

Shares of this crude oil refining company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Chairman of BOD, Executive Chair Paul L. Foster sold 300,000 shares for $19.61, generating $5.9 million from the sale. 100,000 of these shares were sold indirectly by Franklin Mountain Investments Limited Partnership.
• Director Ralph A. Schmidt sold 100,000 shares for $19.85, generating $1.9 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Western Refining Inc. Western R here.

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