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Insider Weekends: First Insider Purchase By The CEO Of eHealth In Four Years

  • August 9, 2020

Welcome to edition 528 of Insider Weekends. Insider buying increased last week with insiders purchasing $172.17 million of stock compared to $88.83 million in the week prior. Selling also increased significantly with insiders selling $5.71 billion of stock last week compared to $1 billion in the week prior. With many companies already reporting earnings, we are likely to see a slew of insider purchases in the coming weeks.

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 33.14. In other words, insiders sold more than 33 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 11.28.

Insider Sector Heat Map August 7, 2020
Insider Sector Heat Map August 7, 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. eHealth, Inc. (EHTH): $79.46

Chief Executive Officer Scott N. Flanders acquired 50,000 shares of this private health insurance exchange, paying $71.54 per share for a total amount of $3.58 million. Mr. Flanders increased his stake by 7.66% to 703,024 shares with this purchase.

Mr. Flanders took on the role of CEO at eHealth on May 31, 2016 after serving on the company’s board since 2008. He came to eHealth by way of Playboy Enterprises and Macmillan Publishers. One of the things that stood out about Mr. Flanders’ leadership positions at various companies was that these companies experienced a big increase in revenue over multiple years and were often acquired or taken private. This pattern of revenue increases can be seen at eHealth as well with revenue increasing 32% in 2018, 101% in 2019 and 45% in the first half of 2020.

The last time Mr. Flanders bought shares of eHealth on the open market was on August 4, 2016 when he purchased 117,000 shares for an average price of just $9.15. The stock hit a high of $148 earlier this year before giving back some gains during the pandemic and then dropping steeply about two weeks ago after second quarter 2020 results were announced.

One concern I have from my initial look at the company is that despite the big increases in revenue and adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow remains negative. While the company increased its revenue guidance for the full year 2020 when it reported Q2 2020 results, it also expects a larger operating loss and higher CapEx. The company expects to become free cash flow positive in 2022 and expects steady increases after that as you can see from the chart below.

eHealth 5 Year Financial Projections
eHealth 5 Year Financial Projections (click to enlarge). Source: eHealth Q2 2020 Earnings Presentation

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

P/E: 27.2Forward P/E: 14.85Industry P/E: 14.42
P/S: 3.59Price/Book: 2.64EV/EBITDA: 17.51
Market Cap: $2.04BAvg. Daily Volume: 992,81552 Week Range: $52.71 – $152.19

2. UGI Corporation (UGI): $34.77

Director Ted A. Dosch acquired 70,000 shares of this regulated gas company, paying $33.76 per share for a total amount of $2.36 million.

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

P/E: 15.16Forward P/E: 12.16Industry P/E: 23.64
P/S: 1.1Price/Book: 1.77EV/EBITDA: 9.19
Market Cap: $7.24BAvg. Daily Volume: 1,215,38552 Week Range: $21.75 – $51.14

3. IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV): $160.54

EVP & interim Chief Financial Officer Ronald E. Bruehlman acquired 10,000 shares of this life sciences tools and services provider, paying $159.94 per share for a total amount of $1.59 million. Mr. Bruehlman increased his stake by 59.70% to 26,751 shares with this purchase.

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

P/E: 239.97Forward P/E: 21.29Industry P/E: 48.78
P/S: 2.81Price/Book: 5.49EV/EBITDA: 24.11
Market Cap: $30.71BAvg. Daily Volume: 1,196,70652 Week Range: $81.79 – $169.14

4. B. Riley Financial, Inc. (RILY): $27.4

Shares of this collaborative financial services and solutions provider were acquired by 3 insiders:

  • Chairman and Co-CEO Bryant R. Riley acquired 25,000 shares, paying $27.15 per share for a total amount of $678,745. Mr. Riley increased his stake by 0.54% to 4,635,659 shares with this purchase.
  • Director Randall E. Paulson acquired 25,000 shares, paying $26.96 per share for a total amount of $674,020. Mr. Paulson increased his stake by 187.36% to 38,343 shares with this purchase.
  • President Kenneth M. Young acquired 1,000 shares, paying $27.28 per share for a total amount of $27,280. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for B. Riley Financial, Inc. here.

P/E: 21.87Forward P/E: N/AIndustry P/E: 18.37
P/S: 1.36Price/Book: 2.29EV/EBITDA: N/A
Market Cap: $697.41MAvg. Daily Volume: 116,30352 Week Range: $12.94 – $30.17

5. F5 Networks, Inc. (FFIV): $140.58

EVP Global Services & Strategy Thomas Dean Fountain acquired 8,060 shares of this multi-cloud application services provider, paying $136.52 per share for a total amount of $1.1 million. Mr. Fountain increased his stake by 319.71% to 10,581 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for F5 Networks, Inc. here.

P/E: 26.38Forward P/E: 14.42Industry P/E: 34.72
P/S: 3.7Price/Book: 3.99EV/EBITDA: 15.68
Market Cap: $8.6BAvg. Daily Volume: 867,87652 Week Range: $79.78 – $156.36

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN): $3167.46

Shares of Amazon were sold by 2 insiders:

  • Chairman, CEO and President Jeff Bezos sold 1,000,000 shares for $3,129.06, generating $3.13 billion from the sale.
  • CEO Amazon Web Services Andrew R. Jassy sold 6,945 shares for $3,183.39, generating $22.11 million from the sale.

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

P/E: 121.65Forward P/E: 71.42Industry P/E: 79.98
P/S: 4.93Price/Book: 21.52EV/EBITDA: 40.6
Market Cap: $1.59TAvg. Daily Volume: 4,611,11052 Week Range: $1626.03 – $3344.29

2. Fortive Corporation (FTV): $72.23

Director Steven M. Rales sold 3,600,000 shares of this scientific & technical instruments company for $69.75, generating $251.12 million from the sale.

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

P/E: 48.84Forward P/E: 20.01Industry P/E: 23.30
P/S: 3.41Price/Book: 3.29EV/EBITDA: 18.72
Market Cap: $24.35BAvg. Daily Volume: 2,310,62152 Week Range: $37.31 – $80.61

3. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (ARE): $175.65

Shares of this office REIT were sold by 11 insiders:

  • Executive Chairman Joel S. Marcus sold 45,000 shares for $175.51, generating $7.89 million from the sale.
  • Co-President and CFO Dean A. Shigenaga sold 20,000 shares for $175.53, generating $3.51 million from the sale.
  • Co-Chief Executive Officer Peter M. Moglia sold 18,881 shares for $176.18, generating $3.33 million from the sale.
  • Co-Chief Investment Officer Daniel J. Ryan sold 15,000 shares for $174.85, generating $2.62 million from the sale.
  • Chief Development Officer Vincent Ciruzzi sold 12,000 shares for $174.36, generating $2.09 million from the sale.
  • EVP – Finance & Treasurer Marc E. Binda sold 10,000 shares for $175.47, generating $1.75 million from the sale.
  • Co-Chief Executive Officer Stephen Richardson sold 10,000 shares for $174.97, generating $1.75 million from the sale.
  • Co-President Thomas J. Andrews sold 5,000 shares for $175.48, generating $877,400 from the sale.
  • Co-Chief Operating Officer Joseph Hakman sold 5,000 shares for $175.13, generating $875,650 from the sale.
  • General Counsel & Secretary Jackie B. Clem sold 2,429 shares for $174.96, generating $424,978 from the sale.
  • EVP – Regional Market Director Terezia C. Nemeth sold 2,000 shares for $175.21, generating $350,420 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. here.

P/E: 52.57Forward P/E: 65.54Industry P/E: 38.68
P/S: 13.1Price/Book: 2.32EV/EBITDA: 30.48
Market Cap: $22.15BAvg. Daily Volume: 1,011,75152 Week Range: $109.22 – $177.7

4. Medallia, Inc. (MDLA): $30.45

Shares of this software application company were sold by 4 insiders:

  • Director Borge Hald sold 600,000 shares for $29.85, generating $17.91 million from the sale.
  • President & CEO Leslie Stretch sold 219,839 shares for $30.62, generating $6.73 million from the sale. 111,451 of these shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
  • CFO and EVP Roxanne Oulman sold 8,111 shares for $30.92, generating $250,777 from the sale.

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

P/E: N/AForward P/E: -1015Industry P/E: 54.98
P/S: 10.19Price/Book: 10.15EV/EBITDA: -31.14
Market Cap: $4.3BAvg. Daily Volume: 1,595,52152 Week Range: $16.04 – $43.05

5. Medpace Holdings, Inc. (MEDP): $124.84

Shares of this diagnostics & research company were sold by 2 insiders:

  • President & CEO August J. Troendle sold 125,294 shares for $122.45, generating $15.34 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by Medpace Investors, LLC.
  • Executive VP, Operations Susan E. Burwig sold 6,000 shares for $121.14, generating $726,840 from the sale.

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

P/E: 44.13Forward P/E: 27.56Industry P/E: 48.78
P/S: 5.01Price/Book: 5.96EV/EBITDA: 28.85
Market Cap: $4.42BAvg. Daily Volume: 311,60752 Week Range: $58.72 – $144.49

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.