Insider Weekends: Chair of Starbucks Purchases Stock

Welcome to edition 637 of Insider Weekends. Insider buying decreased significantly last week with insiders purchasing $189.95 million of stock compared to $436.83 million in the week prior. Selling on the other hand increased to $902.53 million compared to $631.78 million in the week prior.

Insider buying in the prior week was elevated on account of the large $350 million purchase of project management software company Asana (ASAN) by its CEO Dustin Moskovitz in a private placement. Excluding that purchase, insider buying more than tripled last week when the major indices pulled back sharply after an increase in core CPI pointed to further rate increases.

The list of insider purchases last week was dominated by repeat purchases at companies we have discussed in the past including,

• Medpace Holdings (MEDP), a clinical research organization (CRO) which was our spotlight idea for the August 2022 Special Situations Newsletter on account of insider purchases by its CEO.
• Energy Transfer (ET), a midstream energy company with the ability to export liquified natural gas (LNG) which we discussed in August 2022 following a large $30 million purchase by its Executive Chairman here and in April 2022 after a $5.66 million insider purchase by its Director here.
• American Assets Trust (AAT), a diversified REIT we featured as our spotlight idea for the September 2022 Special Situations Newsletter on account of insider purchases by its Founder and CEO.
• B. Riley (RILY), a mid-market investment bank we first discussed as a spotlight idea in the September 2020 Special Situations Newsletter and have discussed numerous times since then on account of insider buying by several insiders.

It was also interesting to see two directors of Starbucks (SBUX) purchase shares after the appointment of a new CEO as discussed in our C-Suite Transitions article two weeks ago. One of those Directors, Mellody Hobson, is also the Chair of the company and has served on the board since 2005. Interim CEO Howard Schultz’s insider purchase from May of this year was very well timed as the stock is up more than 30% since his last purchase as you can see from the chart below..

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 4.75. In other words, insiders sold almost 5 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week was favorable compared to the prior week when the ratio stood at 1.45.

Notable Insider Buys:

1. Medpace Holdings, Inc. (MEDP): $150.87

CEO August J. Troendle acquired 363,177 shares of this clinical research-based drug and medical device development services provider, paying $158.67 per share for a total amount of $57.62 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Medpace Investors.

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

2. Energy Transfer LP (ET): $11.81

Executive Chairman Kelcy L. Warren acquired 3,000,000 shares of this energy-related services provider, paying $12.00 per share for a total amount of $36.01 million. Mr. Warren increased his stake by 6.05% to 52,578,477 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Energy Transfer LP here.

3. Starbucks Corporation (SBUX): $91.31

Shares of Starbucks were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Director Mellody L. Hobson acquired 54,750 shares, paying $92.58 per share for a total amount of $5.07 million. Ms. Hobson increased her stake by 14.46% to 433,254 shares with this purchase.
• Director Richard E. Allison Jr. acquired 10,000 shares, paying $92.53 per share for a total amount of $925,320. Mr. Allison increased his stake by 73.22% to 23,658 shares with this purchase.

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

4. Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (SRPT): $111.99

Director Michael Andrew Chambers acquired 57,100 shares of this biotech company, paying $104.43 per share for a total amount of $5.96 million. Mr. Chambers increased his stake by 111.79% to 108,178 shares with this purchase.

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

5. Clarivate Plc (CLVT): $10.57

Director Andrew Miles Snyder acquired 259,396 shares of this information services and analytics company, paying $11.60 per share for a total amount of $3.01 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Cambridge Information Group.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Clarivate Plc here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. PTC Inc. (PTC): $114.9

Director Blake D. Moret sold 311,333 shares of this software and services company for $120.18, generating $37.42 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by Rockwell Automation.

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

2. Airbnb, Inc. (ABNB): $118.75

Shares of Airbnb were sold by 3 insiders:

• Director Joseph Gebbia sold 250,000 shares for $121.87, generating $30.47 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by a trust.
• Chief Financial Officer Dave Stephenson sold 15,969 shares for $125.00, generating $1.99 million from the sale.
• Director Jeffrey D. Jordan sold 3,000 shares for $120.09, generating $360,269 from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by a trust.

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

3. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CPRX): $13.41

Shares of this biotech company were sold by 7 insiders:

• President and CEO Patrick J. McEnany sold 1,027,611 shares for $15.41, generating $15.83 million from the sale.
• Chief Medical & Reg. Officer Gary Ingenito sold 143,000 shares for $15.67, generating $2.24 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Chief Operating Officer Steve Miller sold 107,933 shares for $16.90, generating $1.82 million from the sale.
• VP, Treasurer and CFO Alicia Grande sold 50,000 shares for $15.57, generating $778,650 from the sale.
• Director Philip H. Coelho sold 30,000 shares for $15.73, generating $472,000 from the sale.
• Director Donald A. Denkhaus sold 20,000 shares for $15.34, generating $306,800 from the sale.
• Chief Strategy Officer Preethi Sundaram sold 18,214 shares for $14.49, generating $263,921 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 Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. here.

4. Bentley Systems, Incorporated (BSY): $33.65

Shares of this infrastructure engineering software solutions provider were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Barry J. Bentley sold 200,000 shares for $38.42, generating $7.68 million from the sale.
• Chairman, CEO & President Gregory S. Bentley sold 168,305 shares for $36.86, generating $6.2 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Bentley Systems, Incorporated here.

5. Enphase Energy, Inc. (ENPH): $318.01

President & CEO Badrinarayanan Kothandaraman sold 36,083 shares of this home energy solutions provider for $296.52, generating $10.69 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Enphase Energy, 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 position in B. Riley (RILY). 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.