It’s a commonly held view amongst market strategists that the Fed follows interest rates, not determines them. You don’t have to look very far to see plenty of evidence of that.  It’s a quiet conspiracy amongst talking heads and futures markets that economic events and statistics are immediately reflected in real-time price action in the bond markets, dot plots, and other dynamic markets. The Fed will often talk up its view, and by the time they do take some action on rates, it’s hardly a surprise. This is, of course, by design.

The Powell Fed believes in transparency and no surprises. What we don’t know about the Powell Fed is their appetite for inflicting pain on others. By that, I mean raising rates until it breaks many marginal businesses and sufficiently wrecks the lives of enough of their laid-off workers. All of this is, of course, for the greater good, putting their self-created inflation genie back in the bottle.

Don’t you think there has to be a better way to fix this?

At this very precious moment in time, the Fed is using its very limited tool, the blunt hammer of interest rates, to exert its will on inflationary forces that may be in large part not responsive to demand side bludgeoning.  Supply side issues like reshoring manufacturing to friendlier nations, climate change initiatives, wars, and pandemics need the precision of a scalpel, not the hammer. But the hammer is what we have, and the market clearly tells us that it doesn’t like higher interest rates. We’re not there yet, but as I’ve warned, we are skating on thinner and thinner ice.  This creates opportunities, but there will be pain.

Harvey Sax
Insomniac Hedge Fund Guy

 

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Name: Richard F Wallman
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-02-23 Shares Bought: 1,750 Average Price Paid: $220.73 Cost: $386,278.00
Company: Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (CRL)

Charles River Laboratories International Inc. is a full-service, non-clinical worldwide drug development partner to improve people’s lives. The firm has expanded on its initial core strength of laboratory animal medicine and science to build a comprehensive array of discovery and safety assessment services, both GLP and non-GLP, that serve customers from target selection through non-clinical development. The firm also offers a variety of goods and services to help customers with their manufacturing operations, including the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) industry. Using a diverse array of goods and services helps customers to construct a more efficient and adaptable drug development model, which lowers costs, improves productivity and effectiveness, and accelerates time to market.

Mr. Richard F. Wallman has been a director since January 2011. Mr. Wallman was the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Honeywell International, Inc., a diversified technology company, and AlliedSignal, Inc. (before its merger with Honeywell). He also serves on the boards of directors of Roper Technologies, Inc., Wright Medical Group, Inc., Boart Longyear Limited, and Extended Stay America, Inc. He formerly served as a member of the board of Convergys Corporation.

Opinion:  Charles River Labs fell 14% post 4th quarter results.  Director Wallman was a seller of CRL last year this time at $292.84. He’s a buyer now. That’s pretty much all you need to know.

 

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Name: Samuel C Cowley
Position: Gen’l Counsel & Secretary
Transaction Date: 2023-02-21 Shares Bought: 6,645 Average Price Paid: $128.38 Cost: $853,065
Company: Insight Enterprises Inc (NSIT)

Insight Enterprises, Inc. offers hardware, software, services, and solutions for information technology (IT) domestically and abroad. Cloud enablement, data, AI, digital strategy, intelligent apps and edge, IoT solutions, and digital transformation services are part of the company’s solution offering. Moreover, it provides platforms for data centers and the cloud, new work environments, and supply chain optimization tools. Moreover, the business offers software maintenance services, including vendor-direct support services, Software-as-a-Service subscription packages, software updates, bug patches, help desk assistance, and other support services. The business also provides software life cycle and hardware warranty services, sourcing, procuring, staging, configuring, integrating, testing, refurbishing, and redeploying IT equipment ranging from endpoints to infrastructure.

Sam Cowley joined Insight in June 2016 and now serves as senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary. With over 30 years of senior management expertise, he has dealt with various legal challenges, including mergers and acquisitions, SEC and other governmental regulatory concerns, contract negotiation, litigation, and advising boards of directors. Cowley worked at Prestige Brands Holdings, Inc. as general counsel and vice president of business development from 2012 until 2016. Before that, he held the positions of executive vice president, business development, and general counsel at Swift Transportation Co., Inc., as well as executive vice president and general counsel at Matrixx Initiatives, Inc. Cowley graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s in economics before obtaining his law degree from Cornell University.

Opinion:  Insiders buying on stock sell offs and 52 week lows is more the norm than chasing stocks at their all time highs. When that happens, there is generally only one message; business is good and going to stay good or even better. In the strange case of General Counsel Cowley, he has ben regularly selling stock every year or so since 2018 at much lower prices.  Perhaps he’s gotten a lot more interested since esteemed hedge fund investor, ValueAct Holdings developed a penchant for the company.  Another catalyst might be the company’s partnership with NVidia announced last year that it was one of a select group of technology partners certified to support enterprises deploying NVIDA DGZ AI computing platform. There it is AI AI AI Buy. It went up last Friday when not many tech stocks were in the green.

 

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Name: R A Walker
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-02-17 Shares Bought: 6,000 Average Price Paid: $104.50 Cost: $627,000.00
Company: ConocoPhillips (COP)

ConocoPhillips is an independent oil and gas exploration and production firm based in Houston, Texas, operating in 13 countries. The company’s broad, low-cost supply portfolio comprises resource-rich unconventional fields in North America, conventional assets in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, LNG initiatives, Canadian oil sands assets, and a worldwide exploration prospect inventory. ConocoPhillips was formed in Delaware in 2001 in conjunction with and in preparation for the merger of Conoco Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Corporation. Conoco and Phillips completed their merger on August 30, 2002. ConocoPhillips finalized the split of its downstream division into Phillips 66, an independent, publicly listed energy company, in April 2012.

Mr. Walker joined ConocoPhillips’ board of directors in July 2006. R.A. Walker was the previous chairman and CEO of Anadarko Petroleum Company until Occidental Petroleum bought the firm in August 2019. He joined Anadarko in 2005 as senior vice president and chief financial officer and eventually rose to become president and chief operating officer until being named CEO in 2012. He formerly worked in the oil and gas business, investment and commercial banking, and as an institutional investor. Mr. Walker now serves as a senior adviser with Jefferies Financial Group Inc. He was formerly a director of BOK Financial Corporation, CenterPoint Energy Company, Enable Midstream Partners, LP, and Health Care Services Corporation.

Opinion: A decade of self delusions fostered by misinformation has weighed heavily on many energy company stocks. The planet is nowhere near going green. Fossil fuels are here to stay.  Conoco is a buy as are most diversified oil and gas companies with healthy balance sheets. You can take your pick. 

 

Finviz Chart

Name: Armando Jr Pimentel
Position: Director Pres & CEO of Sub
Transaction Date: 2023-02-21 Shares Bought: 13,200 Average Price Paid: $75.44 Cost: $995,808
Company: Nextera Energy Inc (NEE)

NEE is one of North America’s leading electric power and energy infrastructure corporations and a pioneer in the renewable energy market. FPL and NEER are NEE’s two main companies. FPL is the biggest electric utility in Florida and one of the largest in the United States. FPL’s strategy emphasizes investing in a generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure to deliver on its value promise of cheap customer bills, high dependability, exceptional customer service, and sustainable energy solutions. NEER is the world’s biggest producer of wind and solar energy and a global pioneer in battery storage. NEER’s strategic emphasis is on developing, building, and managing long-term contracted assets in the United States and Canada, particularly sustainable energy solutions such as renewable generating facilities, battery storage projects, and electric transmission lines.

Armando Pimentel is the president and CEO of Florida Power & Light Company, a NextEra Energy, Inc. subsidiary, and the nation’s biggest investor-owned electric company. In February 2023, he was named president and CEO. Mr. Pimentel formerly worked as executive vice president of finance and chief financial officer at NextEra Energy. Before joining NextEra Energy, Mr. Pimentel was a partner at Deloitte & Touche and had numerous client and leadership roles in the financial services and energy sectors. Mr. Pimentel served as a professional accounting fellow in the Office of the Chief Accountant of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission from 1996 to 1998. Mr. Pimentel graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science in accounting.

Opinion: You can be both an investor in fossil fuels and renewables. That’s exactly what powerhouse utility giant NextEra does. Although utility stocks are historically one of the most rate sensitive sectors along with REITs, the future of electricity generation has never been stronger. The move to electrifying the transportation fleet is creating strong secular tailwinds for the whole sector. Most investor owned monopoly utility companies earn money based on some version of a guaranteed return of invested capital model, ROIC.  Convert fossil fuel plants to renewables and not only do you make more money, you replace giving money to E&P companies like Conoco and invest in your own generation of energy. It’s really a no brainer- its just unfortunate that the wind doesn’t always blow or the sun always shine and lithium batteries are expensive and polluting to make and cobalt is rare, and the list goes on. Being green isn’t cheap, may 10x more costly.

 

Finviz Chart

Name: Richard E Muncrief
Position: President and CEO
Transaction Date: 2023-02-17 Shares Bought: 10,000 Average Price Paid: $53.28 Cost: $532,800
Transaction Date: 2023-02-22 Shares Bought: 5,000 Average Price Paid: $53.00 Cost: $265,000
Company: Devon Energy Corp (DVN)

Name: John E Bethancourt
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-02-17 Shares Bought: 4,706 Average Price Paid: $53.05 Cost: $249,663
Company: Devon Energy Corp (DVN)

Devon is an independent energy firm focused on exploring, developing, and producing oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company’s activities are centered in several onshore locations around the United States. Devon and WPX finalized an all-stock merger of equals on January 7, 2021. WPX was an oil and gas exploration and production business with holdings in Texas and New Mexico’s Delaware Basin and North Dakota’s Williston Basin. This transaction increased the size of the operations, established a leadership position in the Delaware Basin, and advanced the cash-return business strategy, emphasizing free cash flow creation and capital return to shareholders. The company’s business goal aims to generate a continuously competitive shareholder return within its peer group. Since exploring for, developing, and producing oil and natural gas requires significant capital, generating long-term, capital-efficient cash flow growth is critical to the company’s success.

Richard E. Muncrief was nominated to the board of directors and elected president and CEO of the corporation in January 2021. Muncrief formerly served as WPX Energy’s CEO and Chairman of the Board. In 2014, he was appointed to the board of directors of WPX Energy. Before joining WPX, he was senior vice president of operations and resource development at Continental Resources, Inc. Muncrief earned a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering technology from Oklahoma State University, where he was also named a notable alumnus and is a member of the College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology Hall of Fame. He is a former American Exploration & Production Council chairman and serves on its board of directors and executive committee. Muncrief is also a member of the Gilcrease Museum’s national advisory board.

John E. Bethancourt joined the board of directors in January 2014. He is a former Chevron executive who most recently served as executive vice president for technology and services, where he handled Chevron’s environmental, health, and safety activities, large project management, procurement, and mining operations. Bethancourt started his career with Getty Oil Co. in 1974 and later joined Texaco Inc. via a merger in 1984. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering.

Opinion: Devon fell 15% off an already depressed price on its Q4 results. The market overreacted and a swarm of insider rose for the bait. Don’t overthink it, buy it.

 

Finviz Chart

Name: Wes Cummins
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-02-22  Shares Bought: 15,000 Average Price Paid: $44.45 Cost: $666,750
Company: Vishay Precision Group Inc. (VPG)

Vishay Precision Group, Inc. is a multinational corporation that specialises in precision measurement sensing technologies such as specialised sensors, weighing solutions, and measurement systems. Numerous precision measurement sensing products and solutions have been “designed-in” by customers to satisfy rising applications in a wide range of industries and markets. Company goods are sold under a range of brand names that the corporation believes are distinguished by a high degree of accuracy and quality, and the companies are managed via an operationally diverse structure. Vishay Intertechnology grew its sensor and measurement business via acquisitions in the decade before the spin-off, expanding the company’s original emphasis on precision foil resistors and foil strain gauges to encompass a variety of load cell-based products.

Mr. Wesley C. Cummins is an Independent Director at CalAmp Corp., a President at B. Riley Asset Management LLC, an Independent Director at Sequans Communications SA, and an Independent Director at Vishay Precision Group, Inc. from July 2017 to March 2021. He serves on the boards of CalAmp Corp., Sequans Communications SA, and Vishay Precision Group, Inc. Mr. Cummins has previously worked as an Independent Director for TeleNav, Inc., a Research Analyst for Nokomis Capital LLC, an Analyst for Harvey Partners LLC, a Research Director & Head-Capital Markets for B. Riley & Co. LLC, a Founder & Chief Investment Officer for 272 Capital LP, a President for Riley Investment Management LLC, an Analyst for Needham & Co., Inc., and an Analyst for Kennedy Capital Management, Inc. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

Opinion: I can see why Wesley keeps buying, VPG keeps working for him.

Finviz Chart

Name: Philip Austin Jr. Singleton
Position: President and CEO
Transaction Date: 2023-02-21 Shares Bought: 10,000 Average Price Paid: $29.74 Cost: $297,400
Company: OneWater Marine Inc. (ONEW)

OneWater Marine Inc. is a recreational boat retailer in the United States. The firm sells new and used recreational boats, yachts, and associated nautical items such as components and accessories. It also offers boat repair and maintenance services. In addition, the firm offers boat finance and insurance, as well as various auxiliary services such as indoor and outdoor storage, marina, and boat and personal watercraft rental. OneWater Marine Inc. was created in 2014 in Buford, Georgia.

Mr. Singleton has been a OneWater Marine Inc Board of Directors member since its IPO in February 2020. Mr. Singleton is the Chief Executive Officer of OneWater Marine, a position he has held since the company’s inception in 2014. He was formerly the Chief Executive Officer of Singleton Marine, which merged with Legendary Marine to become One Water Marine Holdings LLC in 2014. Mr. Singleton began working at Singleton Marine in 1988, soon after his family launched the company in 1987. Before becoming CEO of OneWater Marine, Mr. Singleton held almost every job inside the dealership, from the fuel dock to the service department, to the sales department, to the general manager, and he has vast industry knowledge. Mr. Singleton attended Auburn University and majored in Business and Finance.

Opinion:  Buying a boat into this recessionary market with rising interest rates is not something a prudent investor might due.  Then again, aren’t we supposed to buy low, sell high.

 

Finviz Chart

Name: Patrick P Gelsinger
Position: CEO
Transaction Date: 2023-02-23  Shares Bought: 9,700 Average Price Paid: $25.68 Cost: $249,081
Company: Intel Corp (INTC)

Intel provided silicon to Silicon Valley. Intel, and its employees have had a tremendous effect on the world for over 50 years, promoting business and society by producing breakthrough ideas that radically transform lives. Intel is now using its reach, size, and resources to assist its customers in realizing the full potential of digital technology. Work relentlessly to enhance semiconductor design and manufacturing to aid customers in addressing the most urgent difficulties. Integrate intelligence into the cloud, network, edge, and every kind of computing device to unleash what CEO Pat Gelsinger describes as the four superpowers: Al, pervasive connectivity, cloud to the edge, and ubiquitous computing. The four incredible technological developments driving the digitalization of everything are now big business considerations.

Patrick Gelsinger is the CEO of Intel Corporation and a member of its board of directors. Gelsinger returned to Intel on February 15, 2021, where he had worked for 30 years. Before returning to Intel, Gelsinger was the CEO of VMware. He helped VMware become a worldwide leader in cloud infrastructure, corporate mobility, and cyber security while in that post, almost doubling the company’s annual revenues. Gelsinger was chosen the greatest CEO in America in 2019 by Glassdoor, an annual assessment. Before joining VMware in 2012, Gelsinger was president and chief operating officer of EMC’s Information Infrastructure Products business. He supervised engineering and operations for data storage, data computing, backup and recovery, RSA security, and enterprise solutions.

Opinion: Gelsenger must be smarting as he watches NVidia get all the glory that was once Intel’s. Even though Intel’s revenues are more than twice that of its competitor, the market cap of Intel is just 1/5th that of Nvidia.

 

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Name: Donal L Mulligan
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-02-22  Shares Bought: 15,000 Average Price Paid: $19.32 Cost: $289,800
Company: Herbalife Nutrition Ltd (HLF)

Herbalife Nutrition is a worldwide nutrition firm that sells health and wellness products to clients in 95 countries and territories using a direct-selling business model. The company’s products mostly include weight control, sports nutrition, and targeted nutrition areas. Using a direct-selling business model, the firm distributes and markets nutrition products to and via a worldwide network of independent members. Consumers who buy things for personal use are members, as are distributors who want to resell products or develop a sales organization. The firm believes that direct selling is the best fit for the business since the distribution and sales of the goods, together with individualized assistance, coaching, and education, create a friendly and understanding community of like-minded individuals who value health and nutrition.

Don Mulligan has vast expertise as a Fortune 200 company CFO and public company director. Mr. Mulligan will be a director of Herbalife Nutrition Limited in March 2021. He has considerable experience working in Asia and South America and has developed good contacts with institutional investors and the analyst community. Mr. Mulligan most recently served as General Mills’ Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He began his career at General Mills in 2001 and has held many top management roles, including Vice President of Financial Operations for the International division, Vice President of Financial Operations for Operations and Technology, and Vice President and Treasurer. Mr. Mulligan now serves on the boards of Tennant Corporation, a leading producer and distributor of cleaning technologies and machines, and Energizer Holdings, Inc., one of the world’s major manufacturers and distributors of primary batteries.

Opinion: Please I can’t go down this rabbit hole.

Finviz Chart

Name: Mark J Erceg
Position: Chief Financial Officer
Transaction Date: 2023-02-17 Shares Bought: 66,700 Average Price Paid: $14.99 Cost: $999,833
Company: Newell Brands Inc (NWL)

Newell Brands is a leading global consumer goods company with a strong portfolio of well-known brands such as Rubbermaid, FoodSaver, Calphalon, Sistema, Sharpie, Paper Mate, Dymo, EXPO, Elmer’s, Yankee Candle, Graco, NUK, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Spontex, Coleman, Campingaz, Contigo, Oster, Sunbeam, and Mr. Coffee. By bringing pleasure, boosting confidence, and delivering peace of mind, Newell Brands’ well-known products improve and brighten customers’ lives inside and beyond the home. The Corporation sells its goods in approximately 200 countries and operates in more than 40 countries, excluding third-party distributors.

Mark Erceg has been appointed as Newell Company’s Chief Financial Officer, beginning January 9, 2023. Before joining Newell Brands, Mark Erceg was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Cerner Corporation, a Fortune 500 Healthcare Information Technology Company. Mr. Erceg previously worked for about ten years as CFO at three other publicly listed firms, including Tiffany & Company, Canadian Pacific Railway, and Masonite International Corporation. He started his career in 1992 with Procter & Gamble, spending over 18 years in increasingly responsible positions in finance, strategy, and operations. Mr. Erceg has a B.S. in Accounting and an MBA in Finance from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and is a Certified Financial Analyst.

Opinion:  CFO’s, cautious and analytical by nature are my favorite insider to follow.  The problem though is that most executive level employees are expected to own substantial amounts of their employers stocks.   Its having skin in the game. That doesn’t mean you should blindly follow. This has not been a good investment and I strongly doubt if it will start becoming one now with a new CFO, not matter how talented he his.

 

Finviz Chart

Name: Kelcy L Warren
Position: Executive Chairman
Transaction Date: 2023-02-22  Shares Bought: 1,339,398 Average Price Paid: $12.99 Cost: $17,398,780
Company: Energy Transfer LP. (ET)

Energy Transfer LP, a Delaware limited partnership, trades its common units. Additionally, the corporation has assets in other companies, such as publicly listed master limited partnerships Sunoco LP and USAC. Cash flow for Energy Transfer comes from distributions relating to its ownership in its subsidiaries, such as USAC and Sunoco LP. Energy Transfer’s main liquidity needs include distribution to partners, general and administrative costs, and debt servicing obligations. After satisfying the liquidity above criteria, Energy Transfer distributes any remaining cash to its unitholders every quarter.

Kelcy L. Warren is the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Energy Transfer LP and has been a leader in the energy industry for nearly 40 years. Mr. Warren co-founded Energy Transfer in 1996, which began as a small intrastate natural gas pipeline operator and is now one of the industry’s largest and most diversified publicly traded energy companies. Today, the Energy Transfer family of partnerships includes Energy Transfer LP, Sunoco LP, and USA Compression Partners LP.

Opinion: We own a lot of this. My biggest question is why is the stock so cheap? 9.49% dividend yield looks darn good even with this Fed hell bent on destruction.  I don’t believe fossil fuels are going away for one minute.

 

Finviz Chart

Name: Charles D Vogt
Position: President & CEO
Transaction Date: 2023-02-22 Shares Bought: 20,000 Average Price Paid: $10.98 Cost: $219,600
Company: DZS Inc. (DZSI)

Name: Misty Dawn Kawecki
Position: Chief Financial Officer
Transaction Date: 2023-02-22 Shares Bought: 10,000 Average Price Paid: $10.70 Cost: $106,950
Company: DZS Inc. (DZSI)

DZS is Enabling a Hyper-Connected World by assisting technology providers in their transition into experience providers and pushing the next generation of Broadband Connectivity, Mobile & Optical Edge, and Cloud Software solutions. Customers may extend their services, modernize their equipment, and employ software to enhance their efficiency, insights, and customer experience with the next-generation fiber broadband platforms. About 750 active clients, including advanced Tier 1, national and regional service providers, and business customers, have implemented the company’s products in over 100 countries globally. The company’s intelligent-edge solutions are focused on offering new solutions that enable global communication development by influencing the internet connection experience for clients.

Charlie Vogt joined DZS in August 2020 as President and CEO, bringing two decades of expertise and more than 30 years of professional experience in implementing imaginative strategies that resulted in extraordinary development in communications industries. On August 1, 2020, he was appointed Director of DZS. Mr. Vogt previously served as president and CEO of four companies: ATX Networks, a global leader in optical access networking and media distribution solutions; Imagine Communications, a global leader in video software and unified distribution solutions; GENBAND, a global leader in IP networking and software solutions; and Taqua, a market leader in soft switch technology. Mr. Vogt was previously involved in the operational and financial success of numerous industry-leading technology businesses, including ADTRAN and Ascend Communications, which either went public or were purchased. Mr. Vogt graduated from Saint Louis University with a B.S. in Economics and Computer Science.

Misty D. Kawecki is the Chief Financial Officer of DZS, Inc. Ms. Kawecki was CFO and head of operations at MediaKind from 2018 to 2021 before joining the Company. She served as CFO and SVP of shared services at Mercury Radio Arts, Inc. from 2015 to 2018, and as VP of finance and corporate controller at Imagine Communications from 2013 to 2015. Prior to joining Imagine Communications, she had senior financial positions at GENBAND and McAfee (Intel). She began her career at the accounting company Ernst & Young. Ms. Kawecki has a master’s degree in accounting from Texas Tech University.

Opinion:  I think I’d avoid this.

Finviz Chart

Name: Glenn Kelman
Position: Chief Executive Officer
Transaction Date: 2023-02-21 Shares Bought: 35,335 Average Price Paid: $8.62 Cost: $304,694
Company: Redfin Corp (RDFN)

Redfin Inc assists consumers in buying and selling properties. Redfin Corp is a residential real estate agency that serves consumers in over 100 areas throughout the United States. The firm combines its agents with its technology to provide a quicker, better, and less expensive service. Customers are met through the company’s listings-search website and mobile application. The firm employs the same blend of technology and local service to originate mortgage loans and provide title and settlement services. Starting in April 2021, the firm will also provide digital platforms that link customers with available flats and homes for rent.

Glenn was named CEO of Redfin in September 2005. Before joining Redfin, he co-founded Plumtree Software, a publicly listed Sequoia-backed firm that pioneered the corporate portal software industry. Glenn managed engineering, marketing, product management, and business development throughout his seven years at Plumtree; he was also responsible for finance and general operations in the company’s early days. Glenn served as one of the first workers of Stanford Technology Group, a Sequoia-backed start-up bought by IBM, before founding Plumtree. Glenn grew up in Seattle and attended the University of California, Berkeley. He often contributes to the Redfin blog and Twitter.

Opinion: Redfin looks like a survivor in the housing market. Note the word ‘survivor” not a thriver.

Finviz Chart

Name: Mubadala Investment Co PJSC/Mamoura Diversified Global Holding PJSC
Position: 10% Owner
Transaction Date: 2023-02-16 Shares Bought: 42,682 Average Price Paid: $7.90 Cost: $337,043
Transaction Date: 2023-02-21 Shares Bought: 94,418 Average Price Paid: $7.74 Cost: $731,126
Transaction Date: 2023-02-17 Shares Bought: 63,382 Average Price Paid: $7.71 Cost: $488,986
Company: Recursion Pharmaceuticals Inc (RXRX)

Recursion Pharmaceuticals Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology startup industrializing drug discovery using biology decoding. The Recursion Operating System, a platform built across diverse technologies that enable the mapping and navigation of hundreds of billions of biological and chemical relationships within the Recursion Data Universe, one of the world’s largest proprietary biological and chemical datasets, is central to the mission. The company’s emphasis on unique technologies spanning target discovery through translation and the capacity to quickly iterate in-house and at scale between wet and dry labs distinguishes the company from other firms in the area. Moreover, the balanced team of life scientists, computational and technology professionals, and other experts foster an atmosphere where empirical evidence, statistical rigor, and creative thinking are applied to the judgments.

Mubadala invests and collaborates at the forefront of global development and innovation to generate possibilities for future generations. Commercially oriented, the organization deploys money throughout its portfolio in promising industries and locations. With an entrepreneurial perspective, the firm has altered its business strategy to emphasize shareholders, talent, and world-class relationships. Mamoura Diversified Global Holding releases bi-annual consolidated financial statements as the debt-issuing business under Mubadala Investment Corporation.

Opinion: This company is headquartered just down the street from me. I walk by their HQ quite often. They have a lot of career openings and if you can understand what any of those open positions actually are for, you are a lot smarter than most people I know including myself. This is extreme high tech in biosciences. The sovereign wealth fund of Dubai is buying and they probably have a much longer time horizon than you or I. None the less, you can take a little flyer here but don’t look at it too often as this is long, long term.

Finviz Chart

Name: Brian N Hansen
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-02-21 Shares Bought: 100,000 Average Price Paid: $2.69 Cost: $268,908
Company: Franklin Street Properties Corp (FSP)

Franklin Street Properties Corp is a Maryland company that operates to qualify for federal income tax treatment as a real estate investment trust or REIT. The firm is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focusing on commercial real estate investments, especially in office markets. It now operates in just one segment: real estate operations. Rental income from real estate leasing, interest income from secured loans issued on office premises, property dispositions, and fee income from asset/property management and development are the primary revenue streams for real estate operations. The firm invests in infill and central business district office assets in the sunbelt and mountain west areas of the United States, as well as in select opportunistic locations. The firm seeks value-oriented investments focusing on long-term growth, appreciation, and present income.

Brian N. Hansen joined the board of directors in 2012 and was appointed Head of the Remuneration Committee in February 2021. Mr. Hansen is the President and Chief Operational Officer of Confluence Investment Management LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser in St. Louis. Mr. Hansen worked as a Managing Director in A.G. Edwards’ Financial Institutions & Real Estate Investment Banking unit before starting Confluence in 2007. Mr. Hansen advised a broad range of real estate investment trusts on multiple capital markets transactions, including public and private offers of debt and equity instruments, as well as the study of different merger and acquisition options while at A.G. Edwards. Mr. Hansen received his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and his Bachelor of Science in Commerce from DePaul University. Mr. Hansen has the designation of Certified Public Accountant.

Opinion: Good contrarian office play. No one is building new offices and FSP is basically an option without an expiration that pays you a little money. 


 

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Insiders sell the stock for many reasons, but they generally buy for just one – to make money. You’ve always heard the best information is inside information.  Everyone who has any experience at all in the stock market pays close attention to what insiders are doing.  After all, who knows a business better than the people running it?  Officers, directors, and 10% owners are required to inform the public through a Form 4 Filing any transaction, buy, sell, exercise, or any other within 48 hours of doing so. This info is available for free from the SEC’s Web site, Edgar, although we subscribe to SECForm4  as they provide a way to manage and make sense of the vast realms of data. I’ve tried a lot of vendors. SECForm4 is one of the smaller ones but I like supporting Frank. He is not arrogant. He’s helpful and has great prices. He also trades on his own data so I like people that eat what they kill.

The bar is different from selling because the natural state of management is to be a seller. This is because most companies provide significant amounts of management compensation packages as stock and options. Therefore, with selling, we analyze unusual patterns, such as insiders selling 25 percent or more of their holdings or multiple insiders selling near 52-week lows. Another red flag is large planned sale programs that start without warning. Unfortunately, the public information disclosure requirements about these programs, referred to as Rule 10b5-1 is horrendously poor. Also planned sales that just pop up out of nowhere are basically sales and are seeking cover under this corporate welfare loophole. I also generally ignore 10 percent shareholders as they tend to be OPM (other people’s money) and perhaps not the smart money we are trying to read the tea leaves on. I say generally because some 10% shareholders are great investors. Think Warren  Buffett, Icahn, and others

Of course, insiders can also be wrong about their Company’s prospects. Don’t let anyone fool you into believing they never make mistakes.  Do your own analysis. They can easily be wrong, and in many cases, maybe most cases have no more idea what the future may hold than you or me. In short, you can lose money following them.  We have and we curse aloud, what were they thinking!

We like Fly on the Wall for keeping up with what events might be happening, analysts’ comments, and whatever else could be moving the stock.  Dow Jones news service is an essential tool but many services pick up their feed like they do Bloomberg. For quick financial analysis, it’s hard to beat Old School Value.

No one tracks and understands insider behavior better than us. We’ve been doing it religiously since 2001 when I quit being an insider myself and devoted myself full-time to managing my personal investments. Needless to say, past good fortune is no guarantee of future success. We may own positions, long or short, in any of these names and are under no obligation to disclose that.

This blog is solely for educational purposes and the author’s own amusement. Don’t rely on this blog. Think of the blog as part of my personal investment journal that I am willing to share with the DIY investor. We welcome your comments on our analysis but please do  your own research.  Investing with The Insiders Fund is for qualified investors and by Prospectus only. Nothing herein should be construed otherwise.  THE INSIDERS FUND prefers to invest in companies at or near prices that management has been willing to invest significant amounts of their own money in but we have no requirement to do so. We also invest in many companies in anticipation of future insider buying or with the expectation that there is none at all.

You can be an insider, too– by clicking here

Prosperous Trading,

Harvey Sax
Insomniac Hedge Fund Guy