Insider Weekends: Director of Sunnova Energy Purchases 20,000 Shares

Happy New Year and welcome to edition 600 of Insider Weekends. With folks out for the holidays and the fourth quarter earnings related quiet periods at most companies, insider buying declined significantly last week with insiders purchasing $13.35 million of stock purchased compared to $307.19 million in the week prior. Selling also decreased to $1.71 billion compared to $2.35 billion in the week prior.

Given the low level of insider activity last week, pickings were slim on the buy side and that is why we focused on two merger arbitrage and spinoff situations in our January 2022 Special Situations newsletter. The only purchase from last week that stood out was the 20,000 purchase of residential solar company Sunnova Energy International (NOVA) by its Director Akbar Mohamed. Mr. Mohamed has worked on Goldman Sachs’ M&A desk, at a Dallas-based private equity firm and as the President of Prime Communications, LP, the largest AT&T authorized retailer in the U.S. He is also a Certified Public Accountant. He was appointed to NOVA’s board as an independent director in December 2020.

NOVA and other solar companies like Sunrun (RUN) were hit hard last month after California regulators proposed cutting back what homeowners with solar installations can get for selling their excess energy back to their utility. Rates could come down to $0.03-$0.04/KWh down from $0.17-$0.44 previously and there could be an increase in the delivery fees charged by the utility company. As investors would recall, when Nevada attempted to pass similar changes in 2015, the bill saw significant backlash from consumers and solar rooftop installers threatened to entirely exit the state because the new changes made rooftop solar uneconomical for existing and new customers.

It is possible that Mr. Mohamed thinks that California, which accounts for a third of the nation’s new rooftop solar installations, will not allow the proposal to stand in its current format and that other state and federal incentives, including some in President Biden’s Build Back Better Act, will more than offset the impact of these new proposals.

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 127.86. In other words, insiders sold almost 128 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week was unfavorable compared to the prior week when the ratio stood at 7.63.

Notable Insider Buys:

1. American Assets Trust, Inc. (AAT): $37.53

Chairman & CEO Ernest S. Rady acquired 20,021 shares of this diversified REIT, paying $36.49 per share for a total amount of $730,544. These shares were purchased indirectly by a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for American Assets Trust, Inc. here.

2. Angion Biomedica Corp. (ANGN): $2.9

President and CEO Jay Venkatesan acquired 277,244 shares of this biotech company, paying $2.63 per share for a total amount of $730,373. Mr. Venkatesan increased his stake by 20.36% to 1,639,257 shares with this purchase.

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

3. EverQuote, Inc. (EVER): $15.66

Director David B. Blundin acquired 43,100 shares of this online insurance marketplace, paying $14.81 per share for a total amount of $638,311. Mr. Blundin increased his stake by 6.93% to 665,070 shares with this purchase.

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

4. Sunnova Energy International Inc. (NOVA): $27.92

Director Akbar Mohamed acquired 20,000 shares of this residential solar and energy storage services provider, paying $26.13 per share for a total amount of $522,600. Mr. Mohamed increased his stake by 78.78% to 45,386 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Sunnova Energy International Inc. here.

5. Sensei Biotherapeutics, Inc. (SNSE): $5.8

Director James Peyer acquired 84,000 shares of this biotech company, paying $5.03 per share for a total amount of $422,894. These shares were purchased indirectly by Cambrian Biopharma Inc.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Tesla, Inc. (TSLA): $1056.78

Shares of Tesla were sold by 2 insiders:

• CEO Elon Musk sold 934,090 shares for $1091.73, generating $1.02 billion from the sale.
• SVP Powertrain and Energy Eng. Andrew D. Baglino sold 3,500 shares for $1073.00, generating $3.76 million from the sale.

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

2. Walmart Inc. (WMT): $144.69

Shares of Walmart were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Robson S. Walton sold 695,592 shares for $140.36, generating $97.64 million from the sale.
• President and CEO Douglas C. McMillon sold 9,708 shares for $139.31, generating $1.35 million from the sale.

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

3. Medpace Holdings, Inc. (MEDP): $217.64

CEO August J. Troendle sold 102,869 shares of this clinical research-based drug and medical device development services provider for $223.57, generating $22.99 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by Medpace Investors.

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

4. The Liberty SiriusXM Group (LSXMA): $50.85

President, CEO Gregory B. Maffei sold 200,000 shares of this entertainment business for $61.51, generating $12.3 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for The Liberty SiriusXM Group here.

5. Morningstar, Inc. (MORN): $341.99

Executive Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 35,372 shares of this independent investment research services provider for $343.65, generating $12.16 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Morningstar, Inc. 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: 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.