Insider Buys and Sells: Weekly Wrap-up
Monday, May 18, 2009 | Tycoon StaffRating:
For all the analysts and pundits in the financial media, there is still no better judge of a company's health and future prospects than the owners and executives of those companies themselves, along with major institutional shareholders.
That's why insider buying and selling is a critical piece of data that is monitored by people who invest for a living.
As part of our continuing efforts here at The Tycoon Report to level the playing field between individual investors and the fat cats on Wall Street, we're keeping you informed -- on a daily basis and at no cost whatsoever -- of the most significant insider buying and selling.
Below is a weekly re-cap of the past week's activity of important insider buys and sells. We aim to publish this re-cap every Monday, and it can be accessed in your e-mail issues or on the Tycoon Report Web site.
Very important note: While these re-caps are available on the Tycoon Report Web site, if you want the most timely information we provide on insider buying and selling, be sure to read the e-mail issues that we send each weekday morning.
That's why insider buying and selling is a critical piece of data that is monitored by people who invest for a living.
As part of our continuing efforts here at The Tycoon Report to level the playing field between individual investors and the fat cats on Wall Street, we're keeping you informed -- on a daily basis and at no cost whatsoever -- of the most significant insider buying and selling.
Below is a weekly re-cap of the past week's activity of important insider buys and sells. We aim to publish this re-cap every Monday, and it can be accessed in your e-mail issues or on the Tycoon Report Web site.
Very important note: While these re-caps are available on the Tycoon Report Web site, if you want the most timely information we provide on insider buying and selling, be sure to read the e-mail issues that we send each weekday morning.
GMX Resources Inc. (GMXR)
CEO and President Ken L. Kenworthy Jr. BOUGHT $1.7 million in shares. View details here.
Affiliated Managers Group (AMG)
Executive V.P. and COO Nathaniel Dalton SOLD $4.1 million in options and $2.4 via option exercise. View details here.
American Medical Systems Holdings (AMMD)
Former Exec. V.P. and COO Russ Longhini SOLD $1.3 million in options and $727,199 via options exercise. View details here.
Director Richard B. Emmitt SOLD $3 million in shares. View details here.
Amgen (AMGN)
Chairman of the Bd, CEO & Pres. Kevin W. Sharer SOLD $1.7 million in shares. View details here.
Apache Corp. (APA)
Retired Chairman Raymond Plank SOLD $3.6 million in shares. View details here.
In a separate transaction, he also SOLD $1 million in shares. View details here.
AsiaInfo Holdings (ASIA)
CEO & President Steve Zhang SOLD $1.7 million in options and $589,236 via option exercise. View details here.
Director James Ding SOLD $1.5 million via option exercise. View details here.
CEC Entertainment (CEC)
Executive Chairman Richard M. Frank SOLD $3.4 million in options and $2.2 million via option exercise. View details here.
DaVita Inc. (DVA)
Chairman and CEO Kent J. Thiry SOLD $3.1 million in options and $381,299 via option exercise. View details here.
Esco Technologies (ESE)
Chairman, CEO & Pres. Victor L. Richey Jr. SOLD $1.4 million in shares and $548,808 via option exercise. View details here.
Gilead Sciences (GILD)
Chairman and CEO John C. Martin SOLD $4.5 million in options and $364,850 via option exercise. View details here.
J.B. Hunt (JBHT)
Chairman Earl Wayne Garrison SOLD $10.4 million in shares. View details here.
McDonald's (MCD)
Vice Chairman and CEO James A. Skinner SOLD $4.4 million in shares and $8 million via option exercise. View details here.
Morningstar (MORN)
Chief Operating Officer Tao Huang SOLD $2.3 million in shares and $1 million via option exercise. View details here.
In a separate transaction, Tao Huang also SOLD $1.3 million in shares and $489,000 via option exercise. View details here.
Oceaneering International (OII)
Sr. V.P., Gen. Counsel & Sec. George R. Haubenreich Jr. SOLD $1.4 million in shares. View details here.
Executive Vice President Kevin M. McEvoy SOLD $1.2 million in shares. View details here.
President and CEO Jay T. Collins SOLD $2.8 million in shares. View details here.
Director John R. Huff SOLD $1 million in shares. View details here.
Priceline.com (PCLN)
Executive VP, General Counsel Peter J. Millones SOLD $2.2 million in shares, $942,674 via option exercise and $3.7 million in options. View details here.
President and CEO Jeffery H. Boyd SOLD $9.1 million in options and $2.7 million via option exercise. View details here.
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN)
Chairman and CEO Harold M. Korell SOLD $15.3 million in options and $344,100 via option exercise. View details here.
True Religion Apparel (TRLG)
President Michael F. Buckley SOLD $2.1 million in shares. View details here.
Waddell & Reed Financial (WDR)
CEO Henry J. Herrmann SOLD $3.4 million in shares and $2.1 million via option exercise. View details here.
XTO Energy (XTO)
President Vaughn O. Vennerberg II SOLD $1 million in shares. View details here.
Sr. V.P. Investor Rel & Finance Gary D. Simpson SOLD $2.2 million in shares. View details here.
Chairman of the Board Bob R. Simpson SOLD $8.7 million in shares. View details here.
Economic Calendar for the Week of May 18-22
TUESDAY, MAY 19
8:30 a.m. Housing Starts and Building Permits
* Importance (A-F): This release merits a B-.
* Source: The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce
* Release Time: 8:30 a.m. Eastern around the 16th of the month (data for one month prior).
* Raw Data Available At: http://www.census.gov/const/www/newresconstindex.html
Housing Starts are a measure of the number of residential units on which construction is begun each month. A start in construction is defined as the beginning of excavation of the foundation for the building and is comprised primarily of residential housing. Building permits are permits taken out in order to allow excavation. An increase in building permits and starts usually occurs a few months after a reduction in mortgage rates. Permits lead starts, but permits are not required in all regions of the country, and the level of permits therefore tends to be less than the level of starts over time.
Highlights
* The March housing data were not pretty. Starts dropped 10.8% to a 510,000 annual rate from 572,000 in February. The level is not as low as the 488,000 dismal January number, but it is still the second lowest of this cycle.
* The March level is well below expectations of about a 540,000 level and below the three-month average of 539,000 the three prior months.
* By region, starts were up 6.3% in the Northeast, up 15.9% in the Midwest, down 16.8% in the South, and down 26.3% in the West.
* Housing permits gave no indication of an imminent upturn. Permits fell 9% to a 513,000 annual rate. This is the lowest level of the current cycle and below the 547,000 average of the three prior months.
Key Factors
* There is no reason not to take the data at face value as an indication that housing remains in a deep slump and that sporadic signs of stabilization have to be viewed with caution.
Big Picture
* Housing starts are at extremely low levels and the outlook is not likely to improve any time soon due to high levels of inventories of unsold new homes. An uptrend in consturction will require an improvement in employment and income, and then take some time as inventories need to be reduced. Government action to boost mortgage lending may also help, and starts might stabilize in the second half of the year.
THURSDAY, MAY 21
8:30 a.m. Initial Claims
* Importance (A-F): This release merits a C .
* Source: The Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor.
* Release Time: 8:30 a.m. Eastern each Thursday (data for week ended prior Saturday).
* Raw Data Available At: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/main.htm
Initial jobless claims measure the number of filings for state jobless benefits. This report provides a timely, but often misleading, indicator of the direction of the economy, with increases (decreases) in claims potential signalling slowing (accelerating) job growth. On a week-to-week basis, claims are quite volatile, and many analysts therefore track a four-week moving average to get a better sense of the underlying trend. It typically takes a sustained move of at least 30,000 in claims to signal a meaningful change in job growth.
There are two other statistics in this report -- the number of people receiving state benefits and the insured unemployment rate; neither is watched closely by the market. Some analysts track the number of people receiving state benefits from month to month as a guide for job growth, though this series has a poor track record in predicting the monthly employment report. The insured unemployment rate changes little on a weekly basis and is never a factor for the market.
Highlights
* Initial claims for the week ended May 9 jumped to 637,000 from 605,000 in the prior week while continuing claims through May 2 increased to another record high of 6.56 million from 6.36 million in the prior report.
* The 4-week moving average for initial claims rose 5.3% to 630,500. The four-week moving average for continuing claims rose 3.2% to 6.34 million.
Key Factors
* One can still argue that the pace of layoffs has slowed, but the disturbing fact remains that hiring isn't picking up.
* The latter reality will continue to be a key drag on consumer spending activity which, in turn, will slow the trajectory of the economic recovery effort.
Big Picture
* New claims for unemployment are at recessionary levels, as the financial crisis on Wall Street spilled over to Main Street in noticeable fashion with the seizing up of the credit markets in late summer/early fall 2008.
10 a.m. Leading Indicators
* Importance (A-F): This release merits a C-.
* Source: The Conference Board.
* Release Time: 10:00 ET around the third week of the month for the month prior.
* Raw Data Available At: http://www.tcb-indicators.org
The Leading Indicators report is, for the most part, a compendium of previously announced economic indicators: new orders, jobless claims, money supply, average workweek, building permits, and stock prices. Therefore, the report is extremely predictable and of very little interest to the market. Though this series does have some predictive qualities, it is a common criticism that it has predicted "nine of the last six" recessions.
The Commerce Department previously published the leading indicators series. The collection and publishing of these data is now done by the non-profit Conference Board, which also produces the Consumer Confidence index.
Highlights
* The March index of Leading Indicators, reported by the Conference Board, declined -0.3%. That was larger than the consensus estimate of -0.2% and marked the third straight monthly decline in the series. The February report was revised higher to show a decline of -0.2% versus a previously reported -0.4%.
* Looking at the components within the index, it was M2 and the interest rate spread that were the big offsets again, as they contributed 0.34% and 0.26%, respectively, to the leading index.
* Consumer expectations added 0.08%, consumer goods orders were estimated to be flat, and all other components were reported to have a negative net contribution with building permits (-0.26%) the biggest drag.
* The coincident index registered a -0.4% decline, its fifth-straight monthly drop, while the lagging index was down -0.3% for its fourth-straight losing month.
Key Factors
* This index typically does not have much market impact since most of its components are known ahead of time.
Big Picture
* The leading indicators index does not have a good track record over the past few years. The index overestimated weakness in 2007 and early 2008. The index is now understandably reflecting the weakness in many sectors of the US economy and is likely to trend negative for a while.
10 a.m. Philadelphia Fed Index
* Importance (A-F): The Philadelphia Fed Index merits a B.
* Source: The Philadelphia Federal Reserve bank.
* Release Time: Third Thursday of the month at noon Eastern for the current month.
* Raw Data Available At: http://www.phil.frb.org/
There are many regional manufacturing surveys, and they tend to be ranked in order of timeliness and the importance of the region. The Philadelphia Fed's survey is first each month, actually coming out during the third week of the month for which it is reporting. Several smaller surveys are then released before the Chicago purchasing managers' report on the last day of each month.
A few, such as the Atlanta and Richmond Fed surveys, are released after the NAPM and are of little value. The purchasing managers' reports are measured like the national NAPM - 50% marks the breakeven line between an expanding and contracting manufacturing sector. For the Philadelphia and Atlanta Fed indexes, 0 is the breakeven mark.
These surveys can be of some help in forecasting the national NAPM -- particularly the Philadelphia and Chicago surveys, which are more closely watched due to their timeliness and the fact that these regions represent a reasonable cross-section of national manufacturing activities.
