Cluster Purchases by Insiders of new IPO Scribe Therapeutics – Insider Weekends

Insider buying was once again muted last week due to earnings-related quiet period restrictions at most companies. The only reason aggregate insider buying spiked, was on account of $56.34 million worth of insider purchases tied to a biotech IPO. Once you remove those purchases, insider buying dropped to just $11.71 million last week. I was conflicted between writing briefly about this recent IPO and a rare insider purchase by two insiders of Albertsons Companies (ACI).

On one end of the spectrum is a highly risky bet that could take years to pay off but whose backers were willing to pour more money into even after its IPO. On the other end is a grocery stores chain that is getting squeezed by multiple competitors.

The Grocery Stores Insider Purchases

Before I dismissed Albertsons either on account of the massive debt on its balance sheet or slow revenue growth, it was worth remembering that the cluster of insider purchases we saw at Grocery Outlet (GO) from six different insiders in March of this year, went on to generate 51% gains for the insiders in aggregate.

The Grocery Outlet insider purchases reminded me of a series of insider purchases at Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) we reported on in between 2017 and 2020 that took a while to play out but generated very good returns for insiders despite the 43% pullback in the stock over the last year.

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