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Posts Tagged ‘insider buying’

Insider Buying/Selling: The Collected Wisdom of a Thousand Heartbreaks

Insider Buying/Selling: The Collected Wisdom of a Thousand Heartbreaks

broken heart

Courtesy of Joshua M Brown, The Reformed Broker

With stocks challenging multi-year highs, I thought today would be a good opportunity to address one persistently negative datapoint that seems to be stuck in our collective craw – the trend of insider selling way outpacing insider buying in Corporate America.  And no, I have no idea what the hell a "craw" is, I’m a northerner.

My pal The Pragmatic Capitalist has done an excellent job on his site of documenting the weekly flow of sellers versus buyers and as you can plainly see, insiders are simply not showing up and purchasing shares of their own companies.  For example, insider buying totaled only $4.6 million worth of stock last week while selling hit $626 million. 

Of course, this is not bullish…but is it straight-up bearish?  Since I’ve fought all of these battles and learned a lot about the utility of tracking insiders (the hard way), I’ll share some of my insights on the subject and let you decide how meaningful this data is…

There will be generalizations below, take them with a grain of salt:

1.  "Growth Stocks" don’t get bought by insiders and executives unless the shares get hammered by a one-time event.

2.  Insider buying in "Value Stocks" is way more meaningful, especially in turnaround situations.

3.  Technology executives would rather be locked in a dark basement, listening to Billy Joel’s…
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INSIDERS STILL NOT BUYING THE RECOVERY TALK

Here’s Pragcap’s weekly report on insider trends.  I added several charts from Insider Cow below.  These charts show the lack of insider buying very graphically.  The decline in the buying/selling ratio appears to be due to extremely low levels of buying, because the selling is not at particularly high levels. – Ilene 

INSIDERS STILL NOT BUYING THE RECOVERY TALK

Courtesy of The Pragmatic Capitalist 

Negative trends in insider transactions were little changed on the week as insiders remain heavy sellers of their own shares while purchasing next to none.  Total buying remained very low historically at just $4.65MM for the week ending April 23rd.  Selling also declined from last week, but remains substantially higher than buying at $626MM.

The 4 week moving average fell slightly to $6.36MM – a near low since the economy troughed in 2008.  Insiders have remained skeptics of their own corporations despite recent signs of recovery.

IT31 INSIDERS STILL NOT BUYING THE RECOVERY TALK

Notable buying:

IT11 INSIDERS STILL NOT BUYING THE RECOVERY TALK

Notable selling:

IT2 INSIDERS STILL NOT BUYING THE RECOVERY TALK

Source: FinViz

Insider Charts from Insider Cow:

 


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AN UNSTOPPABLE BEAR KILLING MACHINE

AN UNSTOPPABLE BEAR KILLING MACHINE

Courtesy of The Pragmatic Capitalist 

A few weeks ago we joked that the SEC had banned all downticks.  That might not sound so funny now as there have been almost zero downticks over the last two months.  Stocks have rallied on 75% of all days and ever 0.5% dip has been aggressively bought into.  This market is an unstoppable bear killing machine.  Equities have reversed their full 1.5% losses from this morning as the “buy the dip” trade continues to dominate every minute of every day.  The truly amazing rally just doesn’t quit:

ES2 AN UNSTOPPABLE BEAR KILLING MACHINE 

 ******

As an aside, you might ask, who ISN’T buying?

Corporate insiders, that’s who. Look at these charts from Insider Cow:

insider buy

insider buy/sell ratio


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INSIDER BUYING REMAINS NEAR ITS LOWS

INSIDER BUYING REMAINS NEAR ITS LOWS

Courtesy of The Pragmatic Capitalist

The negative trends in insider buying and selling continued this week as insiders sold a total of $896mm in stock and purchased just $6.3mm.   Both were up from last week’s readings of $824MM in selling and the annual low in buying of $2.1MM.  The 4 week trailing average of purchases remains near its recent lows.

As we’ve previously mentioned, this is a vote of no confidence in the sustainability of the long-term recovery as insiders simply refuse to use their own dollars to buy into this rally.

IT3 INSIDER BUYING REMAINS NEAR ITS LOWS 


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INSIDER BUYING HITS NEW LOW

INSIDER BUYING HITS NEW LOW

Courtesy of The Pragmatic Capitalist

Insider buying cratered in the week ending April 9th as corporate executives refused to buy into the rally after the recent surge in stocks.  Buying has been consistently light since the rally started last March, but was particularly light this week. Total purchases of just $2.1MM was the lowest level during the entire 75% equity rally though the weekly average has ticked slightly higher over the last 8 weeks. Meanwhile, the heavy stream of insider selling continued as insiders unloaded $824mm onto the market.

IT1 INSIDER BUYING HITS NEW LOW

Of course, insiders sell for various reasons so the high level of selling should be taken with a grain of salt, however, the very low levels of buying are clear evidence of skepticism with regards to the sustainability of any recovery.  As evidenced in weak hiring trends and revenue trends corporate executives have yet to see much evidence that this recovery is anything other than a cyclical rebound as opposed to a new secular economic cycle.

Buying was very light this week so there were few notable purchases:

it11 INSIDER BUYING HITS NEW LOW

Notable selling:

it21 INSIDER BUYING HITS NEW LOW

Source: FinViz 


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INSIDERS CONTINUE TO SELL INTO THE RALLY

INSIDERS CONTINUE TO SELL INTO THE RALLY

Courtesy of The Pragmatic Capitalist 

Insiders continue to display a remarkably low level of confidence in the stock market via the use of their own money.  The latest data on insider buying and selling shows the continuing negative trends.  For the week ending April 2nd, insiders sold $421MM while buying just $13.5MM.  Both buying and selling were down substantially from last week, but the discrepancy between the two remains equally large.

There were no notable buying trends this week:

[click on charts to enlarge and go to the Finviz website - Ilene]

it1 INSIDERS CONTINUE TO SELL INTO THE RALLY

Notable selling:

it2 INSIDERS CONTINUE TO SELL INTO THE RALLY

Source: FinViz


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INSIDER BUYING REMAINS NON-EXISTENT

INSIDER BUYING REMAINS NON-EXISTENT

Courtesy of The Pragmatic Capitalist 

The latest data on insider buying and selling showed little change in the bearishness of corporate insiders.  For the week ending March 26th, insiders bought just $38MM in stocks while at the same selling $999MM.   Both buying and selling were down from last week’s reading (see here).

Insiders have been skeptical of the sustainability of the rally as they have seen meager gains in sales growth over the course of the “recovery”.  While selling has been remarkably high, it is the low levels of buying that remains most worrisome.

Notable buying:

it23 INSIDER BUYING REMAINS NON EXISTENT

Notable selling:

it13 INSIDER BUYING REMAINS NON EXISTENT

 


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Insider buying and selling

By Ilene 

Following up on Pragcap’s article on insider buying and selling (below), here are several charts that show the trends, via Insider Cow:

insider buying

numbers of insider buyers

Insider buy/sell ratio

insider selling in $ 


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Insider buying and selling charts

By Ilene 

Following up on Pragcap’s article on insider buying and selling, here are several charts that show the trends visually from Insider Cow:

insider buying

numbers of insider buyers

Insider buy/sell ratio

insider selling in $


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INSIDER SELLING HITS NEW 2010 HIGH

Update on insider activity from Pragcap -- selling still far exceeds buying, confirming my thoughts on Feb. 20 that trends haven’t changed. - Ilene 

INSIDER SELLING HITS NEW 2010 HIGH

Courtesy of The Pragmatic Capitalist 

The recent uptick in stocks has not been met with much enthusiasm by corporate insiders.  In fact, pessimism rules the day in the land of insider buying and selling trends.  For the week ending February 26th insiders sold a total of $1.88B in stock and purchased just $13.22MM.  Selling was up substantially from last week and buying was down substantially from last week.  The selling was the highest level experienced this year.  Interestingly, as the rally has continued insiders have actually increased their selling.

Of course, insiders sell for numerous reasons so it’s foolish to look at insider selling alone, however, the low level of buying tells the real story here.  Insiders simply don’t trust the long-term viability of the equity rally based on the condition of their internal operations.  Perhaps most alarming in this data is the fact that it is not solely a problem in the United States.  As we noted last week, the problem is pervasive in China as well where insider buying and selling trends remain negative.   Clearly, Main Street investors aren’t the only ones aware of the government induced rally in stocks.  The stimulus based recovery in China is apparently causing some concern in the corner offices in Hong Kong as well.

There was no notable buying this week, however, there were some interesting trends in selling.  Sales across the consumer discretionary space we particularly heavy.   Selling was very heavy in Whole Foods (WFMI) where insiders clearly desire to take profits following the 25%+ rally in recent weeks.  Other notable sales included sizable selling by the CFO’s of TJX and VF Corp.   As we’ve previously mentioned, sales by CFO’s are always intriguing because no insider knows the company finances like the CFO.   All notable buying and selling is attached:

it13 INSIDER SELLING HITS NEW 2010 HIGH

Notable selling:

it23 INSIDER SELLING HITS NEW 2010 HIGH

Source: FinViz 

****

For updated Finviz data, go here for a list of recent buys and sells 

 


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Zero Hedge

Whither Gold

Courtesy of ZeroHedge. View original post here.

Submitted by Tyler Durden.

The prophetic words of Antal Fekete in his now infamous 'essay' on Gold are as relevant now (perhaps more so) as they were when he first wrote them 15 years ago - especially as the Euro-zone migrates from lossening fiat-money to quasi-money (greek pharma bonds for instance). While summarizing this must-read discussion of mainstream economic orthodoxy's mis-teachings is impractical, his initial introduction sets the stage for what is to come: "The year 1971 was a milestone in the history of money and credit. Previously, in the world's most developed countries, money (and hence cred...



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Market Montage

Whitney Houston Dead at 48

Submitted by Mark Hanna

Courtesy of MarketMontage. View original post here.

Damn.  Two (MJ and Whitney) of the big 4 of the 80s gone – Madonna and Prince remain.  Probably the most well known Star Spangled Banner ever…

Disclosure Notice

Any securities mentioned on this page are not held by the author in his personal portfolio. Securities mentioned may or may not be held by the author in the mutual fund he manages, the Paladin Long Short Fund (PALFX). For a list of the aforementioned fund's holdings at the end of the prior quarter, visit the Paladin Funds website at http://www.paladinfunds.com/holdings/blog

...

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Phil's Favorites

It's Well Past Time for Plan Z

It's Well Past Time for Plan Z

Courtesy of The Automatic Earth

Mario Draghi captured the utter ineptitude of him and every other Eurocrat out there when he said the following at today’s press conference in response to a question about a Greek exit: “To have a Plan B means defeat already. I am confident that all the pieces of this will fall in the proper places.”

Most 5-year old children in pre-school have already been told not to believe that they can always win and that “winning isn’t everything”, but Draghi & Co. still refuse to consider the possibility of failure even as it is staring them in the face. What’s really disturbing is that the stakes here are obviously much, much higher than they are o...



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Chart School

The Student Loan Debt Bomb

Courtesy of Doug Short.

Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.

It's interesting to watch some of the terms bandied about in headline news. For example, the LA Times headline reads S&P says student loan debt could be next financial bubble.

Next? Could Be?

What with the word "next"? Also what's with the words "could be"? Without a doubt student loans are in a bubble and have been for many years. The source of the problem, as it always is with financial bubbles, is cheap money, loans to nearly anyone, and in the case of student loans, no way to discharge the debt, even in bankruptcy.

From the article:

"Student-loan debt has ballooned and m...



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Sabrient

Sabrient Risers - 2/11/2012

Top 5 RisersStockRatingAnalysisICABUYThe projected value for Empresas ICA is still rising quickly even though past earnings have already improved significantly.XBUYThe projected value for US Steel is still rising quickly even though past earnings have already improved significantly.FEICBUYProjected value continues to rise for FEI while long term increases in earnings growth are also becoming more widely expected.ASBCBUYMany analysts are expecting higher than previously expected long term growth from Associated Bancorp, and its near-term earnings outlook is also improving....

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Insider Scoop

Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Friday February 10, 2012

Courtesy of Benzinga.

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Friday February 10, 2012:

Actuant Acquires Jeyco Pty

The Deal:
Actuant (NYSE: ATU) announced Friday that it has acquired Jeyco Pty Ltd (“Jeyco”). Headquartered near Perth, Australia, Jeyco designs and provides specialized mooring, rigging and towing systems and services to the offshore oil & gas industry in Australia and other international markets. Additionally, its highly engineered products are used in a variety of applications for other markets including cyclone mooring and marine, defense and mining tow systems. Jeyco generates annual revenues of approximately $20 million.

Actuant shares closed at $27.33 Friday, a loss of 0.18% on average volume.

...

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ETF Selector

ETFs Skid On Greece (VGK, EWG, FXE, DIA, SPY)

Courtesy of John Nyaradi.

Greece was “saved” for less than 24 hours but now major ETFs around the world skid into the weekend on Greek fears

After wangling for a week or more, Greek took their new deal to the European Ministers meeting, only to have it promptly rejected and so as we go into the weekend, major global markets and ETFs have again hit the skids on Greece.

After two years of wangling, the European zone is demanding yet more and deeper cuts for Greece to qualify for the next round of bailout loans that will keep the country from going bankrupt on March 20th.

Major European and United States ETF responded negatively to the new developments:

SPDR Dow Jones Industrial ETF (NYSEARCA:...



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All About Trends

Mid-Day Update

Reminder: David is available to chat with Members, comments are found below each post.

Click here for the full report.




To learn more, sign up for David's free newsletter and receive the free report from All About Trends - "How To Outperform 90% Of Wall Street With Just $500 A Week." Tell David PSW sent you. - Ilene...

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Option Review

True Religion Falls Apart At The Seams After Earnings

 

Today’s tickers: TRLG, KR & IGT

...



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OpTrader

Swing trading portfolio - week of February 6th, 2012

Reminder: OpTrader is available to chat with Members, comments are found below each post.

This post is for all our live virtual trade ideas and daily comments. Please click on "comments" below to follow our live discussion. All of our current  trades are listed in the spreadsheet below, with entry price (1/2 in and All in), and exit prices (1/3 out, 2/3 out, and All out).

We also indicate our stop, which is most of the time the "5 day moving average". All trades, unless indicated, are front-month ATM options. 

Please feel free to participate in the discussion and ask any questions you might have about this virtual portfolio, by clicking on the "comments" link right below.

To learn more about the swing trading virtual portfolio (strategy, performance, FAQ, etc.), please click here

Optrader 

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Stock World Weekly

Stock World Weekly: The Relentless Pursuit of Meaningless Metrics

NEW: Elliott and Ilene are available to chat with Members regarding topics presented in SWW, comments are found below each post.

Here's the latest Stock World Weekly, called "The Relentless Pursuit of Meaningless Metrics."  

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IRA Strategy/Income Trader

Weekend Virtual Portfolio Update 1/30/2012

Here is a quick update of past trades and our current position. AA Money No trade this week as we wait for AA to settle. Phil remarked last week that AA seemed overvalued. In the meantime, it looks like we might have to roll our Feb 9 calls. Good thing we sold only 5 of them against our position. Last week P&L - 310.00 We lost ground last week, but we still have 11 months to sell premium! FAS Money Very good week for FAS Money as we benefited from the large amount of premium sold the previous week. We covered most of the shorts in advance of the Fed speech, but sold another set of options on Wednesday after the speech - 2 FAS calls that expired worthless on Friday, 2 FAS put that we are still holding and 2 FAZ put that we bought back for a profit on Friday. A late stick comparable to last week's almost gave us problems at the end of the day though! Last week P&L - $4277.00 IWM Money A decent week in this virtual portfo...

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Pharmboy

Biotech Investing for 2012

Reminder: Pharmboy is available to chat with Members, comments are found below each post.

Finding new and exciting Biotech companies that target novel mechanisms is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.  Sure there are many companies working on cutting edge science, but investing in those companies to reap the rewards of their work is a very dangerous game.  More often than not, companies fail because the mechanism does not pan out, the compound(s) do not have pharmacokinetics (get into the body or last very long in the body), or an adverse event happens that knocks years off a development timeline.  In addition, the stock can be manipulated by market makers so investors don't know which way is up.  I approach investing in biotechs as a long term prospect.  I continue to like our current portfolio of biotech companies (join in chat for many of those plays), and we continually add/subtract shares and sell/buy options on ...



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Philip R. Davis is a founder Phil's Stock World, a stock and options trading site that teaches the art of options trading to newcomers and devises advanced strategies for expert traders...

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