Insider Weekends: CEO Of Medpace Purchases Over $4 Million Worth Of Stock

Clinical Research Organizations or CROs have become a critical partner for biotech and pharma companies large and small. CROs help these companies during phases I to IV of the drug development process and the suite of services they offer often extend well beyond just patient recruitment for drug studies. Medpace Holding (MEDP) is a CRO that focuses on small and mid-size biotechs and is one of the smaller CROs compared to companies like ICON (ICLR), IQIVIA (IQV) and Charles River Laboratories (CRL) that work with the big pharmaceutical companies and are several times larger than Medpace (MEDP).

Biotech stocks have been in a world of pain long before the tech bubble burst late last year and the big drop in stock prices combined with a more challenging funding environment this year has dampened investor enthusiasm for companies like Medpace Holdings with the stock down nearly 25% this year. Despite this challenging environment, the company managed to grow revenue 24% last year and the pace of growth accelerated in Q1 2022 with revenue increasing 27.3% to $331 million. The company’s backlog of business is probably helping the company at the moment and growth is expected to taper next year.

The company isn’t exactly cheap trading at 20 times forward EBITDA, but with double digit top line growth, strong net margin of over 16% and a pristine balance sheet, I can see why the CEO is seeing the drop this year as a buying opportunity. This is exactly the kind of company I hope to discover when reviewing insider transactions and I’ll add Medpace to my watchlist should a general decline in the market present a buying opportunity.

The other interesting insider purchase was by the Chief Supply Chain Officer of Keurig Dr. Pepper (KDP). He is buying under an established 10b5-1 plan and this is already his third purchase this month. The Chief Legal Officer and Chief Strategy Officer were also buyers earlier this year.

Welcome to edition 629 of Insider Weekends. Insider buying declined significantly last week with insiders purchasing $13.33 million of stock compared to $52.71 million in the week prior. Selling on the other hand increased significantly to $1.1 billion compared to $222.44 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 82.79. In other words, insiders sold almost 83 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 4.22.

Notable Insider Buys:

1. Medpace Holdings, Inc. (MEDP): $161.4

CEO August J. Troendle acquired 30,620 shares of this clinical research-based drug and medical device development services provider, paying $144.70 per share for a total amount of $4.43 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Medpace Investors.

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

2. VOXX International Corporation (VOXX): $8.09

Shares of this automotive electronics company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Director Beat Kahli acquired 140,000 shares, paying $7.56 per share for a total amount of $1.06 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Avalon Park Group Holding AG.
• President & CEO Patrick M. Lavelle acquired 15,200 shares, paying $6.31 per share for a total amount of $95,967. Mr. Lavelle increased his stake by 3.00% to 521,740 shares with this purchase.

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

3. Rocket Companies, Inc. (RKT): $9.43

Shares of this tech-driven real estate, mortgage, and e-Commerce company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Chief Executive Officer Jay Farner acquired 106,400 shares, paying $9.39 per share for a total amount of $998,597. Mr. Farner increased his stake by 3.33% to 3,301,307 shares with this purchase.
• Director Matthew Rizik acquired 11,500 shares, paying $9.38 per share for a total amount of $107,821. Mr. Rizik increased his stake by 4.47% to 269,002 shares with this purchase.

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

4. Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (KDP): $36.43

Chief Supply Chain Officer Maurice Anthony Milikin acquired 12,979 shares of this beverage company, paying $36.36 per share for a total amount of $471,916. Mr. Milikin increased his stake by 33.33% to 51,916 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. here.

5. Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (CMTL): $11.09

Shares of this communication equipment company were acquired by 5 insiders:

• Director Lisa Lesavoy acquired 10,000 shares, paying $10.22 per share for a total amount of $102,200. Ms. Lesavoy increased her stake by 117.98% to 18,476 shares with this purchase.
• CEO & President Michael Porcelain acquired 8,630 shares, paying $9.80 per share for a total amount of $84,593. Mr. Porcelain increased his stake by 6.15% to 148,944 shares with this purchase.
• Chief Operating Officer Maria Hedden acquired 4,640 shares, paying $10.60 per share for a total amount of $49,184.
• Chief Financial Officer Michael Bondi acquired 4,000 shares, paying $9.33 per share for a total amount of $37,320. Mr. Bondi increased his stake by 10.12% to 43,516 shares with this purchase.
• Director Yacov A. Shamash acquired 1,500 shares, paying $10.63 per share for a total amount of $15,945. Mr. Shamash increased his stake by 7.72% to 20,935 shares with this purchase.

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

6. Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT): $394.74

Director John Donovan acquired 632 shares of this security and aerospace company, paying $396.16 per share for a total amount of $250,373. Mr. Donovan increased his stake by 111.27% to 1,200 shares with this purchase.

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

7. Delcath Systems, Inc. (DCTH): $4.29

Chief Executive Officer Gerard J. Michel acquired 62,814 shares of this medical devices company, paying $3.98 per share for a total amount of $250,000. Mr. Michel increased his stake by 99.63% to 125,864 shares with this purchase.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW): $62.99

Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 240,000 shares of Charles Schwab for $62.61, generating $15.03 million from the sale.

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

2. Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (IBKR): $56.44

Chairman Thomas Peterffy sold 120,000 shares of this investment brokerage for $55.50, generating $6.66 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. here.

3. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH): $521.41

CEO, UHG Andrew Witty sold 11,376 shares of this health insurance provider for $527.90, generating $6.01 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated here.

4. XPO Logistics, Inc. (XPO): $54.2

Chief Executive Officer Jacobs S. Bradley sold 106,471 shares of this supply chain management solutions provider  for $52.25, generating $5.56 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by Jacobs Private Equity, LLC.

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

5. Celsius Holdings, Inc. (CELH): $80.03

CEO John Fieldly sold 50,000 shares of this functional drinks and liquid supplements company for $85.00, generating $4.25 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Celsius Holdings, 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: I hold a long positions in Rocket Companies (RKT) and Airbnb (ABNB). 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.