Tesla, Boston Scientific And Others Insiders Have Been Buying

Whether the past week's volatility, and the apparent and long overdue correction, has brought out bargain hunters remains to be seen. However, it is clear that insiders and beneficial owners have come out to take advantage of the turmoil. Conventional wisdom says that insiders and beneficial owners really only buy shares of a company for one reason -- they believe the stock price will rise and they want to profit from it. And insider buying has picked up as the second-quarter earnings reporting season winds down. Recently, some of the most significant insider buys have been in Freeport-McMoRan, Hertz Global and Tesla Motors.

Boston Scientific

So far in August, a director emeritus has purchased 300,000 shares of Boston Scientific Corporation BSX at $17.39 to $17.57 per share. That cost him around $5.24 million altogether. Boston Scientific's Innova Stent System recently won an FDA approval. This Massachusetts-based medical device maker has a market capitalization near $22.0 billion. The long-term earnings per share (EPS) growth forecast is more than 11 percent, but note that the return on equity is in the red. Shares closed Friday at $16.35, down more than 5 percent for the week, along with the S&P 500.

Freeport-McMoRan

A director scooped up a million shares of this mining and petroleum giant last week. At $9.94 per share, that was worth around $9.94 million, and it doubled his stake. For many investors and analysts, the verdict is still out though whether the metals and mining industry finally has seen a bottom. The market cap of Freeport-McMoRan Inc FCX is around $9.98 billion, and the dividend yield is about 2.1 percent. The operating margin is greater than the industry average, and short interest is about 6 percent of the float. The share price ended last week at $9.58, near a multiyear low. See also: Why Jim Chanos Went Short On SolarCity

Hertz

The Hertz Global Holdings Inc HTZ chief executive officer, the chief financial officer and two others together have bought more than 167,000 shares recently. At share prices ranging from $18.05 to $18.32, that came to about $3.03 million. Goldman Sachs has resumed coverage of Hertz. This $7.9 million market cap vehicle rental company has a long-term EPS growth forecast of about 13 percent. But note that the return on equity is in the red and short interest is more than 10 percent of the float. Shares are down more than 30 percent year to date and ended last week at $17.30.

MasTec

The chief executive and a director together picked up more than 673,000 MasTec, Inc. MTZ shares last week. Prices ranged from $16.12 to $16.37 per share. That cost them around $11 million altogether. The buys followed release of the second-quarter financial results. This Florida-based infrastructure construction company has a market cap near $1.2 billion. The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is greater than the industry average, and short interest is more than 8 percent of the float. Shares pulled back almost 11 percent last week, and they ended trading on Friday at $15.41.

Opko Health

The chairman continues to buy batches of shares periodically, as he has done for well more than a year. He picked up 544,000 Opko Health Inc. OPK shares last week at $12.32 apiece. That cost him more than $6.70 million. Another executive also bought 2,000 shares. This Miami-based health care company has a market cap near $5.5 billion. Note that the operating margin and the return on equity are in the red, and short interest is more than 22 percent of the float. Shares ended trading on Friday at $12.00, so no quick gains were seen here either. See also: How To Protect Yourself In A Bear Market

Tesla

Last week, CEO Elon Musk purchased $20 million worth of Tesla Motors Inc TSLA, or more than 82,000 shares for $242.00 apiece. His stake is more than 28 million shares. But at least one analyst thinks it may be time to exit the electric vehicle maker. The Palo Alto, California company has a market cap of almost $30 billion. The return on equity and operating margin are in the red, and short interest is more than 23 percent of the float. Shares ended Friday below the purchase price, at $230.77, down about the same percentage as the S&P 500 for the week. At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities. Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.