Insider Weekends: Darren Jackson Purchases 18,000 Shares Of Fastenal

  • January 26, 2020

Welcome to edition 501 of Insider Weekends. Insider buying decreased significantly last week with insiders purchasing $11.65 million of stock compared to $48.31 million in the week prior. Selling also decreased with insiders selling $569.34 million of stock last week compared to $714.05 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 went up to 48.89. In other words, insiders sold almost 49 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 14.78. 

Insider Sector Heat Map January 24, 2020
Insider Sector Heat Map January 24, 2020 (click to enlarge)

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. Fastenal Company (FAST): $35.52

Director Darren R. Jackson acquired 18,000 shares of this distributer of industrial and construction supplies, paying $35.57 per share for a total amount of $640,231. Mr. Jackson increased his stake by 60.00% to 48,000 shares with this purchase.

Mr. Jackson has served on Fastenal’s board since 2012 and this is his largest insider purchase of Fastenal since he joined the board. He was previously the CEO of Advanced Auto Parts (AAP) and before that he served as the CFO of Best Buy and Nordstrom’s.

Fastenal has long had a reputation as an innovative company that provides industrial and construction supplies through its stores, vending machines located at its customer’s sites and an e-business website. Bolts and fasteners now only represent a third of the company’s sales and the company has expanded its product catalog to include tools, motors, gloves, etc. Its machines can detect declines in inventory levels and automatically notify both the customer and Fastenal. It also has an asset tracking system to figure out which employee checked out which tool and when.

Fastenal was a high growth company in the past with health net margins (15%) that you would not expect from a “nuts and bolts” type of company. The stock has always traded for a premium on account of its track record and innovation. Despite a slow down in revenue growth over the last few quarters, the stock is still trading at over 17 times EBITDA. Fastenal has been on my watch list for several years but I have not taken a position in the company yet. This insider purchase will prompt me to revisit the company.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Fastenal Company here.

P/E: 25.74Forward P/E: 22.92Industry P/E: 14.26
P/S: 3.82Price/Book: 7.65EV/EBITDA: 17.53
Market Cap: $20.39BAvg. Daily Volume: 3,768,74052 Week Range: $28.38 – $37.94

2. Cantel Medical Corp. (CMD): $67.49

Shares of this health care equipment company were acquired by 3 insiders:

  • President and CEO George L. Fotiades acquired 5,000 shares, paying $61.17 per share for a total amount of $305,837. Mr. Fotiades increased his stake by 4.40% to 118,708 shares with this purchase.
  • Director Mark N. Diker acquired 2,000 shares, paying $62.43 per share for a total amount of $124,853. Mr. Diker increased his stake by 0.47% to 426,233 shares with this purchase. 1,000 of these shares were purchased indirectly by Mr. Diker’s wife.
  • SVP, General Counsel Jeffrey Z. Mann acquired 750 shares, paying $67.30 per share for a total amount of $50,475. Mr. Mann increased his stake by 11.75% to 7,132 shares with this purchase.

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

P/E: 67.9Forward P/E: 21.63Industry P/E: 57.49
P/S: 3.03Price/Book: 3.88EV/EBITDA: 21.95
Market Cap: $2.87BAvg. Daily Volume: 311,26152 Week Range: $59.94 – $93.87

3. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (PNC): $150.38

Director Charles E. Bunch acquired 1,000 shares of this regional bank, paying $153.11 per share for a total amount of $153,110. Mr. Bunch increased his stake by 26.45% to 4,781 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. here.

P/E: 13.22Forward P/E: 11.8Industry P/E: 11.16
P/S: 3.82Price/Book: 1.32EV/EBITDA: N/A
Market Cap: $65.11BAvg. Daily Volume: 1,794,60352 Week Range: $118.7 – $161.79

4. OPKO Health, Inc. (OPK): $1.58

CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 72,262 shares of this medical devices and drug development company, paying $1.61 per share for a total amount of $116,229. These shares were purchased indirectly by Frost Gamma Investments Trust.

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

P/E: N/AForward P/E: -5.27Industry P/E: N/A
P/S: 1.17Price/Book: 0.59EV/EBITDA: -9.94
Market Cap: $1.05BAvg. Daily Volume: 5,407,60352 Week Range: $1.33 – $3.87

5. Harpoon Therapeutics, Inc. (HARP): $14.62

Chief Financial Officer Georgia Erbez acquired 6,700 shares of this clinical-stage immunotherapy company, paying $14.09 per share for a total amount of $94,418. These shares were purchased indirectly by Erbez IRA Contributory.

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

P/E: N/AForward P/E: -8.55Industry P/E: N/A
P/S: N/APrice/Book: N/AEV/EBITDA: N/A
Market Cap: $360.21MAvg. Daily Volume: 114,30452 Week Range: $9.065 – $21.47

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER): $36.8

Director Garrett Camp sold 510,000 shares of Uber for $37.23, generating $18.99 million from the sale.

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

P/E: N/AForward P/E: -15.73Industry P/E: 41.61
P/S: 4.81Price/Book: 4.16EV/EBITDA: -7.45
Market Cap: $62.77BAvg. Daily Volume: 30,692,24852 Week Range: $25.58 – $47.08

2. Medallia, Inc. (MDLA): $30.63

President & CEO Leslie Stretch sold 568,050 shares of this software application company for $31.29, generating $17.77 million from the sale. 35,974 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 Medallia, Inc. here.

P/E: N/AForward P/E: -1021Industry P/E: 48.15
P/S: 10.38Price/Book: 10.21EV/EBITDA: -47.23
Market Cap: $3.93BAvg. Daily Volume: 1,117,50052 Week Range: $23.76 – $44.72

3. eHealth, Inc. (EHTH): $123.26

Chief Executive Officer Scott N. Flanders sold 121,000 shares of this insurance brokerage for $109.94, generating $13.3 million from the sale.

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

P/E: 700.34Forward P/E: 46.16Industry P/E: 15.09
P/S: 8.39Price/Book: 6.58EV/EBITDA: 84.5
Market Cap: $2.85BAvg. Daily Volume: 640,27252 Week Range: $49.19 – $130

4. NovoCure Limited (NVCR): $87.29

Shares of this oncology company were sold by 2 insiders:

  • Executive Chairman William F. Doyle sold 133,777 shares for $95.00, generating $12.71 million from the sale.
  • Chief Financial Officer Wilhelmus Groenhuysen sold 2,915 shares for $98.14, generating $286,084 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 NovoCure Limited here.

P/E: N/AForward P/E: 223.82Industry P/E: 57.49
P/S: 26.85Price/Book: 45.37EV/EBITDA: -3345
Market Cap: $8.64BAvg. Daily Volume: 909,44552 Week Range: $41.51 – $98.841

5. Accenture plc (ACN): $208.57

Shares of Accenture were sold by 11 insiders:

  • Group Chief Exec – Health & PS Daniel T. London sold 8,400 shares for $209.19, generating $1.76 million from the sale.
  • Chief Exec-North America James O. Etheredge sold 6,347 shares for $209.18, generating $1.33 million from the sale.
  • Grp Chief Exec-Com, Med & Tech John F. Walsh sold 6,000 shares for $209.21, generating $1.26 million from the sale.
  • Group Chief Exec-Growth Mkts Gianfranco Casati sold 5,000 shares for $210.56, generating $1.05 million from the sale.
  • Chief Leadership & HR Officer Ellyn Shook sold 5,000 shares for $210.56, generating $1.05 million from the sale.
  • Chief Accounting Officer Richard P. Clark sold 3,533 shares for $209.18, generating $739,036 from the sale.
  • Chief Operating Officer Johan Deblaere sold 3,000 shares for $209.19, generating $627,557 from the sale.
  • Group Chief Exec-Resources Jean-marc Ollagnier sold 2,869 shares for $209.20, generating $600,188 from the sale.
  • Chief Financial Officer Kathleen R. Mcclure sold 2,268 shares for $209.66, generating $475,502 from the sale.
  • Group Chief Executive-Fin Serv Domingo Miron sold 1,000 shares for $210.59, generating $210,587 from the sale.
  • General Counsel/Corp Secretary Joel Unruch sold 717 shares for $209.20, generating $149,998 from the sale.

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

P/E: 27.83Forward P/E: 24.17Industry P/E: N/A
P/S: 3.02Price/Book: 8.73EV/EBITDA: 18.64
Market Cap: $132.64BAvg. Daily Volume: 1,861,60152 Week Range: $150.2 – $213.25

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: 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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