Notable Insider Buys This Past Week: ADM, Biogen, Grubhub and More

• Insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors.
• Some health care related companies saw notable insider buys last week
• Some chief executive officers were stepping up to the buy window as well.

Conventional wisdom says that insiders and 10 percent 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. So insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors, particularly with markets near all-time highs.

Here's a look at a few notable insider purchases reported in the past week, but note that the executive board chair at Kinder Morgan Inc KMI also continued his buying streak last week.

Biogen

Biogen Inc BIIB CEO Michel Vounatsos and a director last week acquired a total of nearly 122,700 shares of this noted biotech company. At share prices ranging from $229.25 to $232.06, the transactions totaled around $28.22 million. Note that Vounatsos's latest stake was listed as just over 21,000 shares.

A competing therapy from a rival drugmaker has been getting some buzz lately. Biogen rose fractionally in the past week, as did the Nasdaq, and shares closed at $231.18, still in the above purchase price range. Note that shares have traded as high as $388.67 in the past 52 weeks, but the mean price target is $259.12.

UnitedHealth

A UnitedHealth Group Inc UNH director picked up more than 6,400 shares of this Dow Jones industrials component. At an average of $233.209 per share, last week's transaction totaled about $1.50 million. Note that two other directors sold 12,500 shares altogether in the previous week.

Increasing talk about so-called Medicare for All may be a drag on UnitedHealth and its peers. The stock pulled back more than 2 percent in the past week and closed Friday at $231.95, below that director's purchase price. However, analysts anticipate the price will go to $288.04, above the 52-week high of $287.94.

See Also: Tesla Raises Offering Size, Musk Doubles His Purchase

ADM

Last week, the Archer Daniels Midland Co ADM CEO, Juan Luciano, and its chief financial officer bought a total of 29,600 shares of this agricultural giant. At prices that ranged from $42.30 to $42.76 per share, that cost them more than $1.25 million. It also brought Luciano's stake to more than 569,100 shares.

AMD recently posted quarterly numbers that fell short of Wall Street expectations. But shares quickly recovered from the post-report retreat, and the stock ended the past week at $43.67 per share, above the purchase price range noted above. While the consensus target was last seen at $51.50, the stock has traded as high as $52.07 in the past 52 weeks.

Cerner

Cerner Corporation CERN saw two directors step up to the buy window last week. At share prices that ranged from $65.70 to $67.74, the 141,000 shares reportedly acquired cost them less than $1.11 million. Note that, for both of these directors, ownership of these shares is listed as indirect.

This healthcare-focused IT provider raised its earnings guidance and posted quarterly results in line with Wall Street expectations. Shares ended last week trading at $68.47 apiece, up more than 4 percent for the week. The stock hit a 52-week high of $69.34 on Friday, and the consensus price target was $69.97 on last look.

Grubhub

CEO Matthew Maloney scooped up more than 15,400 GrubHub Inc GRUB shares via trust last week. At prices ranging from $63.22 to $66.41 apiece, that totaled just shy of $1.00 million. The CEO's stake was listed as more than 44,200 shares, while the total float is over 90 million.

The recent earnings report showed that this Chicago-based delivery services provider is still holding its own. Grubhub's share price ended Friday at $71.02, so the timing Maloney's purchase looks fortunate. Analysts currently estimate the price will go as high as $99.14, even though the 52-week high, seen last September, is $149.35.