Insider Weekends: Dr. Denner Purchases Over $20 Million of Biogen

Welcome to edition 450 of Insider Weekends. Insider buying more than doubled last week with insiders purchasing $37.61 million of stock compared to $11.46 million in the week prior. Selling also more than doubled with insiders selling $831.23 million of stock last week compared to $356.43 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 22.1. In other words, insiders sold more than 22 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 31.09. 

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. Biogen Inc. (BIIB): $330.91

Director Alexander J. Denner acquired 62,800 shares of this biotech company, paying $327.59 per share for a total amount of $20.57 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Sarissa Capital Management GP LLC.

While Biogen is up significantly off its spring 2018 lows, which saw the stock dip below $250, the stock is still trading for less than 10 times EBITDA. Revenue continues to grow but the growth is anemic on account of competitive pressure for its multiple sclerosis drugs. Margins and free cash flow are healthy and that probably explains why both the company and Dr. Denner are buying stock.

Dr. Denner started Sarissa Capital Management in 2012 after working as a healthcare portfolio manager at Icahn Capital. As of its Q3 2018 13-F filing, the fund had a concentrated portfolio worth $453.36 million, with more than 36% of its assets in Biogen. The fund also held positions in Innoviva (INVA) and Allergan (AGN). Dr. Denner also serves as the Chairman of the Board at The Medicines Company (MDCO).

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

2. Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI): $18.35

Executive Chairman Richard D. Kinder acquired 215,260 shares of this oil & gas pipelines company, paying $17.99 per share for a total amount of $3.87 million. Mr. Kinder increased his stake by 0.09% to 235,427,613 shares with this purchase.

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

3. Discover Financial Services (DFS): $68.4

CEO and President Roger C. Hochschild acquired 30,000 shares of this credit card company, paying $66.67 per share for a total amount of $2 million. Mr. Hochschild increased his stake by 3.73% to 834,799 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Discover Financial Services here.

4. DISH Network Corporation (DISH): $30.44

Executive Vice President James DeFranco acquired 15,000 shares of DISH Network, paying $29.60 per share for a total amount of $444,000. Mr. DeFranco increased his stake by 1.02% to 1,488,529 shares with this purchase.

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

5. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (LOB): $14.48

Shares of this bank holding company were acquired by 3 insiders:

• President, Live Oak Bank Huntley Garriott acquired 20,000 shares, paying $13.82 per share for a total amount of $276,400. Mr. Garriott increased his stake by 57.14% to 55,000 shares with this purchase.
• President Neil Lawrence Underwood acquired 7,165 shares, paying $13.88 per share for a total amount of $99,450.
• Director Diane Beth Glossman acquired 2,000 shares, paying $13.87 per share for a total amount of $27,740. Ms. Glossman increased her stake by 7.12% to 30,102 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Adobe Inc. (ADBE): $247.38

Shares of Adobe were sold by 6 insiders:

• Chairman, President and CEO Shantanu Narayen sold 139,834 shares for $245.40, generating $34.32 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• EVP WW Field Operations Matthew Thompson sold 41,560 shares for $245.23, generating $10.19 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• EVP & GM, Digital Media Bryan Lamkin sold 34,764 shares for $238.52, generating $8.29 million from the sale.
• EVP & GM, Experience Cloud Bradley Rencher sold 30,000 shares for $246.46, generating $7.39 million from the sale.
• EVP & CTO Abhay Parasnis sold 25,000 shares for $240.00, generating $6 million from the sale.
• EVP, Chief Marketing Officer Ann Lewnes sold 3,000 shares for $240.16, generating $720,480 from the sale.

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

2. Twitter, Inc. (TWTR): $33.19

Director Evan Clark Williams sold 682,242 shares of Twitter for $31.82, generating $21.71 million from the sale.

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

3. Clarus Corporation (CLAR): $11.05

Executive Chairman Warren B. Kanders sold 1,400,000 shares of this outdoor equipment and lifestyle products company for $10.83, generating $15.16 million from the sale.

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

4. Medpace Holdings, Inc. (MEDP): $65.73

President & CEO August J. Troendle sold 207,991 shares of this diagnostics & research company for $63.17, generating $13.14 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by Medpace Investors, LLC.

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

5. The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW): $47.03

Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 250,000 shares of this investment brokerage for $47.04, generating $11.76 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for The Charles Schwab Corporation here.

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

The list of all insider purchases and sales by management people is only available to InsideArbitrage Premium and Plus members.

Disclaimer: I hold a long position in Twitter (TWTR). 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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