Insider Weekends – First Insider Purchase at Six Flags in Over Three Years

Happy New Year and welcome to edition 341 of Insider Weekends. Insider buying decreased last week with insiders buying $62.68 million of stock compared to $131.59 million in the week prior. Selling also declined sharply with insiders selling $331.08 million of stock last week compared to $731.32 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 to 5.28. 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 prior week, when the ratio stood at 5.56. 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. Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (SIX): $59.96

President, CEO John M. Duffey acquired 25,000 shares of this theme park operator, paying $59.93 per share for a total amount of $1.49 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

Purchases at Six Flags usually catch my eye because of a cluster of purchases at both Six Flags and competitor Cedar Fun (FUN) in 2011 turned out to be a great signal. Both stocks went on to become multi-baggers from those levels. This purchase was unusual because we have seen nothing but sales at Six Flags since May 2013 and the stock doesn’t look inexpensive. Mr. Duffey was appointed CEO of Six Flags in February 2016.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Six Flags Entertainment Corporation here.

2. DDR Corp. (DDR): $15.27

Director Alexander Otto acquired 84,000 shares of this shopping center REIT, paying $14.86 per share for a total amount of $1.25 million. Mr. Otto increased his stake by 0.20% to 42,687,920 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for DDR Corp. here.

3. Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY): $71.23

Director William R. Klesse acquired 10,000 shares of this independent oil & gas company, paying $72.15 per share for a total amount of $721,500. Mr. Klesse increased his stake by 20.86% to 57,940 shares with this purchase.

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

4. Digimarc Corporation (DMRC): $30

Director Gary Destefano acquired 24,705 shares of this media identification and management solutions provider, paying $27.98 per share for a total amount of $691,209. Mr. Destefano increased his stake by 425.95% to 30,505 shares with this purchase.

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

5. Castle Brands Inc. (ROX): $0.76

Shares of this beverage company were acquired by 5 insiders:

• Director Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 150,000 shares, paying $0.69 per share for a total amount of $103,500. These shares were purchased indirectly by Frost Gamma Investments Trust.
• President and CEO Richard Lampen acquired 90,000 shares, paying $0.72 per share for a total amount of $64,753. Mr. Lampen increased his stake by 5.12% to 1,847,470 shares with this purchase. These shares were purchased indirectly by MZ Trading LLC.
• Director Mark Zeitchick acquired 30,000 shares, paying $0.72 per share for a total amount of $21,600.
• Director Richard M. Krasno acquired 30,000 shares, paying $0.72 per share for a total amount of $21,741. Mr. Krasno increased his stake by 150.00% to 50,000 shares with this purchase.
• SVP, CFO, Treasury & Secretary Alfred Small acquired 2,000 shares, paying $0.65 per share for a total amount of $1,300. Mr. Small increased his stake by 0.87% to 232,466 shares with this purchase.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. BB&T Corporation (BBT): $47.02

Shares of this regional bank were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Stephen T. Williams sold 1,188,253 shares for $46.09, generating $54.77 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• Director Nido R. Qubein sold 10,904 shares for $47.28, generating $515,577 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for BB&T Corporation here.

2. Facebook, Inc. (FB): $115.05

Shares of Facebook were sold by 3 insiders:

• Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg sold 109,000 shares for $117.65, generating $12.82 million from the sale.
• Chief Product Officer Christopher K. Cox sold 15,600 shares for $117.11, generating $1.83 million from the sale.
• VP and General Counsel Colin Stretch sold 750 shares for $118.10, generating $88,575 from the sale.

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

3. MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. (MTSI): $46.28

Chairman John L. Ocampo sold 169,000 shares of this semiconductor  company for $46.42, generating $7.84 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by various trusts.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. here.

4. NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA): $106.74

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

• Director Tench Coxe sold 50,000 shares for $116.70, generating $5.83 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• EVP, Operations Debora Shoquist sold 19,265 shares for $104.88, generating $2.02 million from the sale.

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

5. Autodesk, Inc. (ADSK): $74.01

Shares of this design software and services company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Chief Executive Officer Carl Bass sold 52,419 shares for $75.18, generating $3.94 million from the sale.
• SVP, Autodesk Product Group Amarpreet Hanspal sold 39,736 shares for $76.01, generating $3.02 million from the sale.

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

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

Disclaimer: 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.

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