Insider Buys and Sells: Weekly Wrap-up
Monday, July 20, 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.
Dollar Tree (DLTR)
Chief Executive Officer Bob Sasser SOLD $1 million in options. View details.
Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Chairman & CEO Michael A. Mussallem SOLD $2.6 million in options. View details.
General Mills Inc. (GIS)
EVP, Chief Operating Officer Ian R. Friendly SOLD $2.6 million in options. View details
Gilead Sciences (GILD)
Chairman and CEO John C. Martin SOLD $4.5 million in options. View details
Kroger Co. (KR)
President & COO Don W. McGeorge SOLD $1.3 million in options. View details.
National Semiconductor (NSM)
President & COO Donald MacLeod SOLD $1.2 million in options. View details.
Senior Vice President of WMS Suneil Parulekar SOLD $1.9 million in options. View details.
Universal Insurance Holdings (UVE)
CEO Bradley Meier SOLD $1.3 million in shares. View details.
Economic Calendar for the Week of July 20-24
THURSDAY, JULY 23
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. 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 signaling 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.
Highlights
* The latest jobless claims data produced some positive surprises with initial claims declining 47,000 to 522,000 (consensus 553,000) in the week ending July 11 and continuing claims plummeting 642,000 to 6.3 million.
* The unadjusted data showed initial claims rising 86,389 from the prior week to 667,534 and the advance number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs increasing 63,714 to 6.135 million.
* On a seasonally adjusted basis, the 4-week moving average for initial claims fell to 584,500 (from 607,000) while the 4-week moving average for continuing claims dropped to 6.667 million (from 6.777 million).
Key Factors
* The drop in continuing claims was so large that it was essentially hard to believe and has left many reaching to explain it. Seasonal adjustment factors have been cited by some.
* The headline numbers were certainly much better than expected, but the muted response to them suggests the market wasn't on board with the idea that they paint a true picture of an improving employment landscape, certainly not from a hiring perspective.
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., Existing Home Sales
* Importance (A-F): This release merits a C.
* Source: The National Association of Realtors.
* Release Time: 10 a.m. Eastern around the 25th of the month (data for month prior).
* Raw Data Available At: http://www.realtor.org/research.nsf/pages/EHSdata
This report provides a measure of the level of sales of existing home sales. It is considered a decent indicator of activity in the housing sector. Housing starts precede this report each month, but starts are a supply- rather than demand-side indicator.
Existing home sales precede the other key demand-side indicator of housing -- new home sales -- thus boosting the visibility of this report. Sales are highly dependent on mortgage rates, and will tend to react with a few months lag to changes in rates. Sales are also determined by the level of pent-up demand for housing -- immediately after a recession, sales are typically quite strong due to the demand that accumulated through the recession.
Highlights
* Existing home sales for May increased 2.4% from April to an annualized rate of 4.77 million units. That was slightly below the consensus estimate of 4.82 million, so the headline print will be considered a disappointment.
* The uptick in May was the third straight monthly increase. Separately, the level of 4.77 million units was ahead of the 3-month average of 4.66 million units, which lends support to the stabilization argument.
* The affordability factor again proved helpful to sales activity, as the median home price was down 17% from a year ago to $173,000, while 30-year fixed mortgage rates in April and most of May were below 5%.
* Distressed sales accounted for 33% of all purchases, which was down from 45% in April. At the current sales pace, the supply of unsold existing homes stands at 9.6 months versus 10.1 months in April.
* By region, sales were up 3.9% in the Northeast and up 9.0% in the Midwest. They were flat in the South and down 0.9% in the West.
Key Factors
* In general, this report didn't live up to heightened expectations. The specter of a slowdown in home sales in coming months due to rising mortgage rates, and the expectation that unemployment will continue to increase, are tempering the enthusiasm placed behind the housing recovery argument.
Big Picture
* Existing home sales remain at very depressed levels. The current levels have been supported by lower prices and foreclosure sales. Sales may well have bottomed, but that will not bring much cheer at these levels. Further price declines are also likely.
FRIDAY, JULY 24
9:55 a.m., University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index
* Importance (A-F): This release merits a B-.
* Source: The University of Michigan.
* Release Time: Preliminary: 10 a.m. Eastern on the second Friday of the month (data for current month); Final: 10 a.m. Eastern on the fourth Friday of the month (data for current month).
The Michigan index is almost identical to the Conference Board Consumer Confidence index, though there are two monthly releases, a preliminary and final reading. Like the Conference Board index, it has two subindexes -- expectations and current conditions. The expectations index is a component of the Conference Board's Leading Indicators index.
Big Picture
* Sentiment readings are a reflection of a variety of events rather than an accurate tool for forecasting consumer spending. Gas prices and political events can have an outsized impact on sentiment. In general, these data are of very little economic value.
