Top Insider Purchases – August 12, 2010:Insider buying continues at MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) with a seventh insider purchasing shares yesterday. Both Wausau Paper (WPP) and Covidien (COV) also saw additional insider buying following purchases from last week. To highlight these three stocks and a couple more, I decided to expand the list to 10 companies today.
Notable Insider Buys:
1. ValueClick, Inc. (VCLK): $10.49
Shares of this online advertising campaign provider were acquired by three insiders:
- Director James Zarley acquired 100,000 shares, paying $9.99 per share for a total amount of $999,000. These shares were purchased indirectly through Zarley Investments.
- Director James Crouthamel acquired 4,000 shares, paying $9.95 per share for a total amount of $39,792.
- Director Martin Hart acquired 10,000 shares, paying $10 per share for a total amount of $99,998.
| P/E: 12.07 | Forward P/E: 15.43 | Industry P/E: 29.93 |
| P/S: 1.98 | Price/Book: 1.97 | EV/EBITDA: 6.03 |
| Market Cap: $858.14M | Avg. Daily Volume: 1,738,530 | 52 Week Range: $8.6 – $13.94 |
2. SandRidge Energy, Inc. (SD): $4.64
Shares of this natural gas & oil company were acquired by two insiders:
- Director Daniel Jordan acquired 75,000 shares, paying $4.67 per share for a total amount of $350,228
- Director William Gilliland acquired 100,000 shares, paying $4.73 per share for a total amount of $472,730
| P/E: N/A | Forward P/E: 12.89 | Industry P/E: 14.23 |
| P/S: 1.41 | Price/Book: N/A | EV/EBITDA: 13.21 |
| Market Cap: $977.18M | Avg. Daily Volume: 10,539,500 | 52 Week Range: $4.51 – $15 |
3. Omnicare Inc. (OCR): $20.43
Shares of this pharmaceutical services company were purchased by four insiders. The former CEO of this Fortune 500 company, Joel Gemunder, retired just last week and the search for a new CEO is expected to last five months.
- EVP & CFO John Workman acquired 10,000 shares, paying $19.6 per share for a total amount of $195,900
- Director John Timoney acquired 1,000 shares, paying $20.2 per share for a total amount of $20,190
- Director Amy Wallman acquired 7,000 shares, paying $20.2 per share for a total amount of $141,610
- Interim President and CEO James Shelton acquired 10,000 shares, paying $20.2 per share for a total amount of $201,600
| P/E: 11.23 | Forward P/E: 8.62 | Industry P/E: 13 |
| P/S: 0.38 | Price/Book: 0.61 | EV/EBITDA: 6.26 |
| Market Cap: $2.41B | Avg. Daily Volume: 1,514,950 | 52 Week Range: $19.5 – $30.63 |
4. Geeknet, Inc. (GKNT): $1.28
Chairman of the Board Kenneth Langone acquired 339,009 shares of this online network for the global geek community, paying $1.3 per share for a total amount of $439,840. Mr. Langone was elected Chairman in July 2010. Incidentally GKNT in its former incarnation as VA Software (LNUX) was a very profitable trade for me in 2007 and was partially responsible for the outperformance of the SINLetter model portfolio that year. The company has been struggling to find its footing since then.
| P/E: N/A | Forward P/E: N/A | Industry P/E: 34.3 |
| P/S: 1.1 | Price/Book: 1.67 | EV/EBITDA: -8.3 |
| Market Cap: $77.62M | Avg. Daily Volume: 74,111 | 52 Week Range: $1 – $1.75 |
5. LHC Group, Inc. (LHCG): $20.95
Director Ronald Nixon acquired 12,500 shares of this post-acute health care services provider, paying $20.56 per share for a total amount of $257,011
| P/E: 8.18 | Forward P/E: 8.09 | Industry P/E: 11.95 |
| P/S: 0.67 | Price/Book: 1.51 | EV/EBITDA: 4.1 |
| Market Cap: $390.89M | Avg. Daily Volume: 283,551 | 52 Week Range: $20.22 – $37.49 |
6. Global Industries Ltd. (GLBL): $4.53
Shares of this oil & gas equipment & services company were purchased by two Insiders:
- Senior VP and CFO Andrew Charles Smith acquired 44,000 shares, paying $4.5 per share for a total amount of $198,000
- CEO Burwell John Reed Jr. acquired 10,000 shares, paying $4.53 per share for a total amount of $45,266
| P/E: N/A | Forward P/E: 10.53 | Industry P/E: 20.33 |
| P/S: 0.89 | Price/Book: 0.6 | EV/EBITDA: 39.79 |
| Market Cap: $521.35M | Avg. Daily Volume: 1,222,840 | 52 Week Range: $4.05 – $10.77 |
7. Zep, Inc. (ZEP): $17.55
VP, Gen. Counsel & Corp. Sec. Philip Theodore acquired 12,000 shares of this cleaning and maintenance products company, paying $18.4 per share for a total amount of $220,920
| P/E: 21.69 | Forward P/E: 13.3 | Industry P/E: 13.31 |
| P/S: 0.69 | Price/Book: 3.1 | EV/EBITDA: 10.32 |
| Market Cap: $381.26M | Avg. Daily Volume: 120,100 | 52 Week Range: $14.76 – $24.37 |
8. MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (WFR): $10.37
EVP & President of the SunEdison division, Carlos Domenech, acquired 20,000 shares of this manufacturer of silicon wafers, paying $10.32 per share for a total amount of $206, 400
| P/E: N/A | Forward P/E: 10.37 | Industry P/E: 20.71 |
| P/S: 1.5 | Price/Book: 1.09 | EV/EBITDA: 21.97 |
| Market Cap: $2.35B | Avg. Daily Volume: 7,137,370 | 52 Week Range: $9.19 – $19.31 |
9. Wausau Paper Corp. (WPP): $6.79
President & CEO Thomas Howatt acquired 25,000 shares of this paper products manufacturer, paying $6.8 per share for a total amount of $170,000.
| P/E: 10.37 | Forward P/E: 10.13 | Industry P/E: 14.36 |
| P/S: 0.31 | Price/Book: 1.36 | EV/EBITDA: 3.79 |
| Market Cap: $332.48M | Avg. Daily Volume: 307,488 | 52 Week Range: $6.38 – $12.21 |
10. Covidien plc (COV): $37.81
Vice President and Controller Richard G brown Jr. acquired 4,000 shares of this healthcare products company, paying $37.8 per share for a total amount of $151,000
| P/E: 15.31 | Forward P/E: 10.86 | Industry P/E: 20 |
| P/S: 1.77 | Price/Book: 2.18 | EV/EBITDA: 7.36 |
| Market Cap: $18.96B | Avg. Daily Volume: 5,039,310 | 52 Week Range: $35.59 – $52.48 |
Voluntary Disclosure: I own a long position in WFR.