The Past Week's Notable Insider Buys: Agree Realty, Avis Budget, Zoetis And More

• Insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors, especially when markets face uncertainty.
• Returning buyers and chief executives were among the insiders making purchases this week.
• Biotechs, REITs and a car rental leader saw notable insider purchasing of shares.

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 from it. So insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors, particularly when there is uncertainty in the markets or the markets are near all-time highs.

Here are some of the most noteworthy insider purchases that were reported in the past week.

American Assets Trust, Inc AAT saw its chief executive officer, Ernest Rady, indirectly acquire about 118,000 shares of this San Diego-based real estate investment trust recently. At prices ranging from $29.44 to $30.26 per share, the total for these purchases came to over $5.31 million.

A 10% owner that has been acquiring shares of Austin, Texas-based Molecular Templates Inc MTEM since last October picked up about 309,000 more of them in the past week. The most recent transactions cost that owner more than $3.51 million, at per-share prices ranging from $11.28 to $11.48.

Opko Health Inc. OPK had CEO Phillip Frost, a frequent buyer, return to add to his stake once more. The 500,000 shares acquired via trust most recently, at $4.71 to $4.81 apiece, totaled more than $2.38 million. Unfortunately, the Miami-based company's stock ended the week at $4.50 per share.

One director recently acquired more than 53,600 Sonos Inc SONO shares via family trust. The prices for that ranged from $36.91 to $37.49 per share, and that cost him more than $2 million. Note that this director and other insiders were selling shares of this consumer electronics firm earlier in February.

Before its CEO parted with some shares late last week, a beneficial owner bought more than 10,700 United States Lime & Minerals Inc USLM shares for an average of $139.80 apiece. The total for that owner's purchase was nearly $1.50 million. The stock hit a year-to-date high above $45 last week, before pulling back.

Two Agree Realty Corporation ADC directors stepped up to the buy window this past week. At $62.93 to $64.56 apiece, the more than 19,800 shares acquired altogether added up to over $1.26 million. This retail-focused real estate investment trust had a record-breaking 2020.

Pet health care company Zoetis Inc ZTS saw one director buck the trend at a time when other insiders were selling the shares. The almost 7,600 shares that director acquired via trust, at prices ranging from $163.26 to $165.89 apiece, totaled almost $1.25 million. Alas, the stock ended the week down at $155.24 a share.

A Royalty Pharma plc RPRX director indirectly scooped up some 25,700 of its shares late last week. At prices between $46.42 and $47.09 per share, that cost the director more than $1.2 million. Shares of this New York-based acquirer of biopharmaceutical royalties ended the week trading at $46.57 apiece.

Avis Budget Group Inc. CAR had its chief financial officer pull the trigger during the week as well. The more than 23,700 shares he acquired, at prices between $45.75 and $47.65 per share, added up to around $1.09 million. The stock ended the week trading at $55.55 a share, so a quick 16% or so gain for that buyer.

And Incyte Corporation INCY CEO Herve Hoppenot acquired more than 12,900 of its shares midweek. At an average share price of $77.37, that cost the director about $1 million, and it lifted his stake in the biopharmaceutical company to more than 284,200 shares.

See also: Warren Buffett In Annual Letter Signals More Stock Buybacks Coming This Year, Says Don't 'Bet Against America'

Note that some smaller amount of insider buying at Abbott Laboratories ABT, Cerner Corporation CERN, DuPont de Nemours Inc DD, Ford Motor Company F and Macy's Inc M was reported in the past week as well.

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

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Photo by Charles Forerunner on Unsplash.