Insider Weekends – Large Purchase by a Healthcare REIT CEO

Welcome to edition 329 of Insider Weekends. Insider buying increased last week with insiders buying $58 million of stock compared to $21.22 million in the week prior. Selling on the other hand declined sharply with insiders selling $562 million of stock last week 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 9.69. In other words, insiders sold  almost 10 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 71.95. 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. CASI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CASI): $1.29

Chairman of the Board Wei-Wu He acquired 1,871,605 shares of this biotech company, paying $1.19 per share for a total amount of $2.23 million.  These shares were purchased indirectly through a LLC.

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

2. Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated (CHCT): $22.67

Chairman, CEO and President Timothy G. Wallace acquired 33,670 shares of this healthcare real estate company, paying $21.98 per share for a total amount of $740,152. Mr. Wallace increased his stake by 12.16% to 310,491 shares with this purchase.

Looking through the prior insider transactions at the company I noticed that Mr. Wallace also picked up 58,181 shares at an average price of $21.61/share last month. In total he has purchased nearly $2 million worth of stock since mid-september, which appears significant for a company with a market cap below $300 million.

CHCT has a broadly diversified healthcare real estate portfolio and sports a dividend yield of 6.75%, which is significantly higher than the dividend yield of 3.61% of all equity REITs and the 4.96% yield of health care REITs according to September 2016 data published by NAREIT.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated here.

3. Synergy Resources Corporation (SYRG): $6.78

Shares of this oil and natural gas exploration company were acquired by 3 insiders:

• President/CEO Lynn A. Peterson acquired 49,071 shares, paying $6.00 per share for a total amount of $294,426. Mr. Peterson increased his stake by 11.15% to 489,367 shares with this purchase.
• Director Daniel E. Kelly acquired 15,000 shares, paying $6.49 per share for a total amount of $97,350. Mr. Kelly increased his stake by 92.18% to 31,272 shares with this purchase.
• Chief Operating Officer-Dev Nicholas Spence acquired 1,500 shares, paying $6.35 per share for a total amount of $9,530. These shares were  purchased indirectly by Mr. Spence’s spouse.

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

4. Lands’ End, Inc. (LE): $14.97

Shares of this apparel retailer were acquired by 4 insiders:

• 10% Owner Edward S. Lampert acquired 16,846 shares, paying $14.60 per share for a total amount of $245,952.
• Director Josephine Linden acquired 5,000 shares, paying $15.17 per share for a total amount of $75,857. Mr. Linden increased his stake by 62.50% to 13,000 shares with this purchase.
• Director John McClain acquired 1,500 shares, paying $14.43 per share for a total amount of $21,651.
• Director Jonah Staw acquired 1,000 shares, paying $15.20 per share for a total amount of $15,205. Mr. Staw increased his stake by 42.55% to 3,350 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Lands’ End, Inc. here.

5. Exa Corporation (EXA): $14.77

Director Wayne D. Mackie acquired 10,565 shares of this provider of simulation software for vehicle manufacturing, paying $14.91 per share for a total amount of $157,483. Mr. Mackie increased his stake by 15.21% to 80,027 shares with this purchase.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Facebook, Inc. (FB): $128.99

Shares of Facebook were sold by 5 insiders:

• COB and CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 740,739 shares for $128.25, generating $94.99 million from the sale.  These shares were sold indirectly by the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation.
• Director Jan Koum sold 566,668 shares for $128.22, generating $72.66 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg sold 109,000 shares for $128.31, generating $13.99 million from the sale.
• VP Marketing & Business Partnerships David B. Fischer sold 35,000 shares for $128.78, generating $4.51 million from the sale.
• VP and General Counsel Colin Stretch sold 750 shares for $128.27, generating $96,206 from the sale.  52,404 of 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 Facebook, Inc. here.

2. Papa John’s International Inc. (PZZA): $75.85

CEO John H. Schnatter sold 160,000 shares of this pizza delivery restaurant for $77.50, generating $12.39 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Papa John’s International Inc. here.

3. IHS Markit Ltd. (INFO): $36.41

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

• CEO and Chairman of the Board Jerre L. Stead sold 145,753 shares for $36.96, generating $5.39 million from the sale.
• Vice Chairman Daniel Yergin sold 50,528 shares for $37.49, generating $1.89 million from the sale.
• EVP Chief Admin Officer Jane L. Bomba sold 50,000 shares for $37.60, generating $1.88 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for IHS Markit Ltd. here.

4. NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA): $66.85

Shares of this graphics processor company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Tench Coxe sold 85,551 shares for $68.75, generating $5.88 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• EVP & Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress sold 37,804 shares for $68.60, generating $2.59 million from the sale.

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

5. Accenture plc (ACN): $116

Shares of this management and technology consulting company were sold by 6 insiders:

• Chairman & CEO Pierre Nanterme sold 44,625 shares for $118.04, generating $5.27 million from the sale.
• Group Chief Exec-Growth Mkts Gianfranco Casati sold 5,000 shares for $121.29, generating $606,466 from the sale.
• Chief Operating Officer Johan Deblaere sold 5,000 shares for $121.32, generating $606,603 from the sale.
• Group Chief Exec-Resources Jean-Marc Ollagnier sold 2,049 shares for $121.26, generating $248,465 from the sale.
• Group Chief Executive-Fin Serv Richard Lumb sold 1,250 shares for $121.31, generating $151,639 from the sale.
• Grp Chief Exec-Com, Med & Tech Robert E. Sell sold 1,200 shares for $121.79, generating $146,146 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Accenture plc here.

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

Disclaimer: I do not hold any positions in any of the stocks mentioned in this article. 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