Notable Insider Buys In The Past Week: Eli Lilly, JPMorgan, Thor Industries

Insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors.

The new earnings season has closed buy windows for many insiders.

Some insiders made purchases after quarterly results were posted.

Conventional wisdom says that insiders and 10% owners really only buy shares of a company for one reason — they believe the stock price will rise and they want to profit. So insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors, particularly during periods of uncertainty.

With the new earnings reporting season just started, the buy windows for many insiders are closed. A few insiders added to their stakes after results were posted.

JPMorgan

A JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM director stepped up to the buy window this past week. The director picked up 16,000 shares of this financial giant at around $124.64 each via a trust. That transaction totaled more than $1.99 million. Note that some executives were selling shares earlier this month.

JPMorgan helped kick off earnings season with strong third-quarter results. The stock closed most recently at $126.03, above the director's purchase price and up about 3% in the past week. The shares hit a 52-week high of $126.65 on Friday, above the $122.21 that analysts anticipate the share price will reach. 

Eli Lilly

Eli Lilly And Co LLY saw CEO David Ricks and a director together add more than 6,400 shares to their stakes in the past week. At prices ranging from $107.45 to $108.38 a share, that totaled more than $700,000 altogether.

The chief executive's stake was listed as about 157,400 shares.

Eli Lilly posted better-than-expected earnings and raised its guidance last week. It shares were trading at $110.20 each on last look, above the range of the above purchases.

The stock has traded as high as $132.13 in the past year, but the analyst consensus price target is just $124.08.

Thor Industries

Thor Industries, Inc. THO CEO Robert Martin scooped up some 10,000 shares of this recreational vehicle maker early last week. At $58.67 to $58.86 each, that cost him more than $588,000 and raised his stake to more than 222,000 shares.

Thor posted better-than-expected quarterly results at the end of last month and more recently hiked its dividend. The stock was last seen trading at $67.10 per share, so the above purchase appears to be well-timed.

The 52-week trading range is $42.05 to $76.16, and the analyst consensus recommendation is to buy shares.

See also: A Closer Look At Insider Sales By Garmin's Chairman

Note that the insider buying at Assured Guaranty Ltd. AGO continued last week, and some buying was also seen at biotech Opko Health Inc. OPK and regional bank WesBanco Inc WSBC.

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

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