Insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors/
An insider made a buy after a financial giant posted quarterly earnings.
An insider at a software company bucked the trend of executives selling.
Conventional wisdom says that insiders and 10-percent owners really only buy shares of a company for one reason — they believe
the stock price will rise and they want to profit.
So insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors, particularly during periods of uncertainty. Here's a
look at some notable insider purchases reported in the past week.
JPMorgan
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) saw a
director buy 18,000 shares of this New York-based financial giant early last week.
The share price for this purchase was $111.05 and the total for the transaction was more than $1.99 million. The acquisition
also more than doubled that director's stake to 28,000 shares.
JPMorgan recently kicked off the new earnings reporting season with better-than-expected first-quarter results. The shares have
retreated less than 2 percent since the report and ended the past week at $111.47. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down
fractionally in the past week. The analysts' mean price target for the shares is $121.78.
Apollo Global
Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE: APO)
saw beneficial owner Tiger Global Management add to its stake. At prices that ranged from $28.97 to $29.05, the 50,000 shares of
this investment manager acquired in the past week totaled more than $1.45 million. That brought the stake to more than 34.37
million shares, compared with a total float of about 198.88 million.
The New York-based private equity firm is expected to reveal its first-quarter results on May 3. Its shares ended the past week
trading at $29.26, so it appears the timing of the purchase may be fortunate. The consensus price target is $39.14 and the shares
have traded as high as $37.35 in the past year.
See also: 2 Takes On The Mattel
CEO Shake-Up
Salesforce
At salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE: CRM), one
director bucked the trend by buying while the CEO and others were selling. At between $123.59 and $124.05 per share, the 6,000
shares reportedly acquired in the past week cost that director more than $742,800. Not including options exercised, more than
42,000 shares were listed as sold by the CEO, COO, CTO and others last week.
Efforts to aggressively protect Salesforce's moat impressed at
least one analyst recently. The stock ended the past week about 2 percent higher, closing most recently at $122.82, though that
is below the purchase price range above. Shares have traded as high as $128.87 in the past year, and the consensus price target is
$137.35.
Ryman Hospitality
Ryman Hospitality Properties Inc (NYSE: RHP) saw its CEO and board chairman Colin Reed step up to the buy window this past
week. The more than 6,100 shares of this hotel-and-resort-focused real estate investment trust Reed acquired, at an average share
price of $79.34, cost him less than $487,300. The purchase was associated with a Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan.
The Nashville-based REIT is scheduled to release its first-quarter results May 1. The stock ended the past week's trading about
where it began, a pause after a nearly 3-percent gain in the previous week. Friday's close was $78.85, less than the CEO's purchase
price. The stock has traded as high as $80.04 a share in the past 52 weeks and as low as $57.78.
Signet Jewelers
Signet Jewelers Ltd. (NYSE: SIG) saw CEO
Virginia Drosos scoop up less than 9,000 shares of the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry. At share prices between $38.72
and $39.72, the transactions totaled almost $350,000. Her direct ownership stake is now listed at more than 120,800 shares.
Signet's solid quarterly report with weak guidance last month led to analyst
downgrades. The shares closed this past week's trading at $38.65, which is a bit less than the CEO's purchase price. The stock
is still down about 30 percent year-to-date. Shares have traded as high as $77.94 in the past year.
See also: Some
Perspective On A Possible Pinnacle Foods Buyout
At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.
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