Corporate insiders are those who hold high positions in a company and/or own large amounts of shares. Many times, these insiders have exclusive first access to information that the public does not, making their activity a telling sign of a stock’s future behavior. The law requires them to file any activity with the SEC for public knowledge. This week, insiders from top companies shed thousands, even millions of shares. Let’s take a closer look at the most notable insider sells of this week.
On February 26, 2016 (filed March 1, 2016), SVP and Chief Product Officer Raymond Pittman converted his options of eBay Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY) for the exercise price of $20.94 and then sold 78,537 shares for the amount of $1,910,296. In late January, the company reported slightly above consensus Q4 revenue and EPS though issued weak Q1 and full year 2016 guidance, causing a slew of Hold ratings by analysts. Although the company reported growth in ticket platform StubHub, many felt that this was not a significant catalyst for the stock. Last week, the company priced $1.5 billion in senior notes, which many felt could be used for buybacks, although the company claims the funds will go to general corporate purposes.
On February 26, 2016 (filed March 1, 2016), Director and 16% owner Frederick Wilson sold 208,197 shares of Etsy Inc (NASDAQ: ETSY) common stock for $1,596,871. In a separate transaction dated February 29, 2016 (filed March 2, 2016), Wilson sold 208,198 shares of Etsy for the amount of $1,695,378. Late last month, the company reported better than expected revenues of $87.9 million compared to estimates of $86.46 million, though missed EPS estimates, reporting a loss per share of ($0.04) compared to estimates of ($0.01). While some believe earnings will boost the stock, long-term concern remains over declining growth rates.
On March 1, 2016 (filed March 3, 2016), President and COO John F. Milligan converted 112,000 options of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) into common stock for the exercise price of $16.39 and then sold those shares for $87.83 per share for a total of $9,832,480. Similarly, on the same day, Chairman and CEO John C. Martin converted 100,000 options of the stock into common stock for the exercise price $16.39 and then sold those shares for the execution prices of $87.78 and $88.85 for a total of $8,856,994. Last week, NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman probed insurers who denied patients access to the company’s cure for Hep C, Harvoni. Last year, the company, along with others, came under scrutiny and probed by Congress regarding the prices of Hep C drugs Harvoni and Sovaldi, retailing at over $80,000 per regimen.
On March 1,2016 (filed March 3, 2016) major shareholder Douglas Bratton sold 8.6 million shares of Juno Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: JUNO) for a total of $335,400,000. Last week, the company released its Q4:15 earnings report, reporting a loss of ($0.54) per share, in line with consensus estimates, and revenues of $4.2 million, above consensus estimates of $3.7 million. The company also reported pipeline updates including positive indication that its investigational Leukemia treatment, JCAR015, is on track to win FDA approval.
Between February 29, 2016 and March 1, 2016, shareholder David Swinghamer sold 45,116 shares of Shake Shack Inc (NYSE: SHAK) common stock for a total value of $1,870,047, while shareholder Richard Coraine sold 25,157 shares of Shake Shack common stock for a total value of $1,059,665. The company is set to release its Q4 earnings on March 7 after market close. For this report, analysts are expecting earnings of $0.07 per share and revenue of $50.44 million. The company is expecting lower same store sales growth than the two previous quarters due to price increases.