Insider Weekends – December 11, 2015

Welcome to edition 286 of Insider Weekends. Insider buying increased significantly last week with insiders buying $596.73 million of stock compared to $45.92 million in the week prior. Selling on the other hand decreased with insiders selling $767.16 million of stock last week compared to $1.15 billion in the week prior. The big spike in purchases this week was related to Carl Icahn adding to his stakes in Hertz (HTZ) and Cheniere Energy (LNG).

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 1.29. In other words, insiders sold a little more stock than they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 25.02. 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, 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. Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN): $63.13

Chief Executive Officer Stephen A. Wynn acquired 1,003,977 shares of this resorts & casinos operator, paying $63.61 per share for a total amount of $63.86 million. Mr. Wynn increased his stake by 2553.67% to 1,043,292 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Wynn Resorts Ltd. here.

2. Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (ETE): $13.34

Shares of this natural gas pipeline company were acquired by 4 insiders:

• Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 2,485,000 shares, paying $16.62 per share for a total amount of $41.29 million. 485,000 of these shares were purchased indirectly by Kelcy Warren Partners II, LP.
• President John W. McReynolds acquired 84,667 shares, paying $16.14 per share for a total amount of $1.37 million. Mr. McReynolds increased his stake by 20.03% to 507,467 shares with this purchase.
• Group Chief Financial Officer Jamie Welch acquired 50,000 shares, paying $15.75 per share for a total amount of $787,500. Mr. Welch increased his stake by 5.41% to 974,000 shares with this purchase.
• Director K. Rick Turner acquired 5,000 shares, paying $12.90 per share for a total amount of $64,500. Mr. Turner increased his stake by 1.43% to 354,988 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. here.

3. Cablevision Systems Corporation (CVC): $30.14

Chairman Charles F. Dolan acquired 1,000,000 shares of this telecommunications and media company, paying $29.68 per share for a total amount of $29.68 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

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

4. Sears Holdings Corporation (SHLD): $22.15

Shares of this department stores chain were acquired by 2 insiders:

• 10% Owner Bruce R. Berkowitz acquired 725,100 shares, paying $19.46 per share for a total amount of $14.11 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by The Fairholme Fund.
• Chief Executive Officer Edward S. Lampert acquired 316,450 shares, paying $20.10 per share for a total amount of $6.36 million. Mr. Lampert increased his stake by 1.05% to 30,352,232 shares with this purchase.

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

5. Intrexon Corporation (XON): $29.83

Chief Executive Officer Randal J. Kirk acquired 237,525 shares of this biotech company, paying $30.69 per share for a total amount of $7.29 million.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. (DPLO): $31.47

Chairman and CEO Philip R. Hagerman sold 2,300,000 shares of this independent specialty pharmacy for $33.60, generating $77.28 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

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

2. Antero Resources Corporation (AR): $19.43

Shares of this independent oil and natural gas company were sold by 3 insiders:

• Director Christopher Reid Manning sold 2,800,000 shares for $18.75, generating $52.5 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by Trilantic Capital Partners.
• Vice President – Production Kevin J. Kilstrom sold 835,000 shares for $19.78, generating $16.52 million from the sale.
• VP Reserves, Planning & Midstr Ward D. McNeilly sold 14,000 shares for $19.51, generating $273,118 from the sale.

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

3. Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALXN): $188.06

Shares of this biotech company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Leonard Bell sold 70,000 shares for $188.20, generating $13.17 million from the sale.
• EVP, Chief Strat & Port. Off. Saqib Islam sold 950 shares for $190.00, generating $180,500 from the sale.

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

4. Starbucks Corporation (SBUX): $59.82

Shares of Starbucks were sold by 3 insiders:

• Chairman and CEO Howard D. Schultz sold 162,099 shares for $62.23, generating $10.09 million from the sale.
• Director Olden C. Lee sold 26,000 shares for $61.58, generating $1.6 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• EVP, Gen. Counsel & Secretary Lucy Lee Helm sold 13,356 shares for $62.05, generating $828,764 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 Starbucks Corporation here.

5. Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST): $160.02

Shares of this warehouse retailer were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director James D. Sinegal sold 50,000 shares for $160.00, generating $8 million from the sale.
• Executive VP Paul G. Moulton sold 19,095 shares for $162.64, generating $3.11 million from the sale.

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

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

Disclaimer Clients of Signal Partners, LLC  and I may have positions in any of these stocks at any time. 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.

Connect with me on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/asifsuria or follow me on Twitter @asifsuria