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Insider Purchases Last Week. Nvidia Ignites Massive CAPEX Expansion

Something significant is happening when staid Dell Technologies is up 31% on its latest quarterly earnings. A giant uptick in capex spending is underway, and it is directly attributable to the stampede to embrace AI.   After a year or more of belt-tightening in tech spending, that moment has arrived, almost all at once, when companies realize they have to invest in AI or be disrupted or obsoleted by a Chatbot, robot, or some version of machine learning.  The architect behind this 20-year evolution is Nvdia. The lion’s share of the spend goes toward NVIDIA’s H100 or L40S GPUs — GPU Server For Deep Learning.

The combination of proprietary hardware and software operating systems has created the fastest revenue and earnings growth rate at scale.  At this rate of spend, Nvidia will soon be crowned the most profitable company in the world.  Nothing can stop this coronation except an invasion across the Taiwan straights, as all of Nvidia’s crown jewels are made by Taiwan Semiconductor.

Nvidia is igniting a massive CAPEX expansion. It’s not just tech companies or the hyper scalers; it’s now everywhere. This is truly an “internet game changing moment,” and the spending free for all has just begun.

 

Name: Jacob Thaysen
Position: Chief Executive Officer
Transaction Date: 2024-02-22 Shares Bought: 7,330 Average Price Paid: $135.29 Cost: $991,672
Company: Illumina Inc. (ILMN)

Illumina Inc. is a global leader in genetic and genomic analysis solutions that use sequencing and array technology. Customers in a variety of areas benefit from the products and services, which enable the use of genomic solutions in research and therapeutic settings. The company was established in California in April 1998 and reincorporated in Delaware in July 2000. The clients include top genomic research centers, academic institutions, government laboratories, and hospitals, as well as pharmaceutical, biotechnology, commercial molecular diagnostic laboratories, and consumer genomics enterprises. The company’s offering of integrated sequencing and microarray devices, consumables, and analytic tools is intended to speed up and simplify genetic analysis. This portfolio tackles a wide range of genomic complexity, price points, and throughput, allowing clients to choose the optimum solution for their research or clinical needs.

Jacob Thaysen, PhD, is Illumina’s CEO. He joined the organization in September 2023. Before joining Illumina, Jacob was senior vice president at Agilent and head of the company’s Life Sciences and Applied Markets Group, which included Agilent’s market-leading analytical instrument line, informatics, and cell analysis brand. From 2014 until 2018, Thaysen led Agilent’s Diagnostics and Genomics Group. Thaysen was the corporate vice president of research and development at Dako, a Danish cancer detection company, before joining Agilent. Before joining Dako, he worked as a management consultant with Copenhagen Consultancy Company (now Bain & Co). Earlier in his career, he founded and served as chief technology officer of Cantion, a Danish research and defense application development business. Thaysen earned an MSc and PhD in physics from the Technical University of Denmark.

Opinion: This was is yummy. Revenue was down 11% in Q1 2023;  Courts side with FTC finding Ilumina Grao; deal anticompetitive. The Company in response announded its deciions to dives Grail. Icahn prepares to launch fight to control Illumina board, Bloomberg reports  billionaire Carl Icahn intends to launch a new proxy battle to take control of Illumina’s board of directors in the wake of the company terminating its $7B deal to acquire Grail, Bloomberg’s Crystal Tse reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Icahn thinks the board should be held accountable for pursuing the transaction in the first place, and could nominate as many as seven directors for the currently 11-member board, the author note.

Name: John H Stone
Position: CEO
Transaction Date: 2024-02-22 Shares Bought: 10,000 Average Price Paid: $132.41 Cost: $1,324,146
Company: Allegion plc (ALLE)

Allegion plc is a major global provider of security products and solutions that protect people and assets where they live, learn, work, and connect. The company provides peace of mind by pioneering safety and security, to provide smooth access and a safer world. Seamless access enables permitted, automated, and safe travel and movement through venues and locations in the most efficient and frictionless way possible. Partnering and growing ecosystems is key to their mission, as it allows for a faultless experience and the uninterrupted and secure flow of people and things. They provide a comprehensive and varied spectrum of security and access control systems and solutions from several market-leading companies. The company feels that their ability to provide a diverse variety of solutions that can be customized to meet end-user security requirements is a fundamental driver of their success.

As president and CEO, John is responsible for the strategic direction of Allegion and its global operations, which includes producing superior shareholder value, building momentum in the company’s goal of seamless access and a safer world, and investing in and executing core growth projects. As the former head of Deere & Company’s Intelligent Solutions Group, John was also instrumental in the company’s rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning capabilities, improved integration of precision-ag technology into each of its flagship products, and establishing the company as a technological leader. In that capacity, he oversaw the company’s acquisition of tech firm Blue River Technology, as well as the opening of the San Francisco John Deere Labs office and the precision-ag headquarters in Urbandale, Iowa. John received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the United States Military Academy and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Opinion: At the end of the day, Allegion is a lock company. 

Name: Badrinarayanan Kothandaraman
Position: President & CEO
Transaction Date: 2024-02-27 Shares Bought: 4,000 Average Price Paid: $120.54 Cost: $482,154
Company: Enphase Energy Inc. (ENPH)

Enphase Energy Inc. is a global energy technology firm created in March 2006. The company provides sophisticated, user-friendly solutions that handle solar generation, storage, and communication on a single platform. The intelligent microinverters are compatible with nearly every solar panel on the market, and when combined with the smart technology, they create one of the industry’s best-performing clean energy systems.  For the first time in the history of their centuries-old system, people can be compensated for the clean energy they generate and distribute to their communities, thereby contributing to the development of a new energy future based on the sun. The company designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes home energy solutions that integrate energy generation, storage, control, and communication on a single intelligent platform. The Enphase® Energy System™ offers a networked approach to solar generation and energy storage, utilizing their design expertise in power electronics, semiconductors, and cloud-based software technologies.

Badri joined Enphase in April 2017 as chief operational officer before being named president and CEO in September 2017. He joins Enphase with over 21 years of product development and general management expertise in the semiconductor sector. Badri started his career at Cypress Semiconductor in 1995, working in process technology research and chip design before becoming vice president of the Asynchronous SRAM Business in 2008. From 2008 until 2011, Badri oversaw Cypress’s Memory Products Division’s Non-Volatile, Dual-Port, Timing, and Automotive businesses. Badri also worked as the executive director of Cypress Semiconductor Technology India Private Limited from 2012 until 2016. Badri obtained his BTech from IIT Madras and his M.S. in materials science from the University of California, Berkeley. He also completed the Stanford Executive Program in 2008 and has eight US patents.

Opinion: Solar had a rough year as there was major overcapacity hoarded in Europe due to the land war there and California’s shifting roof top regulations.  The winter of our discontent will pass and as interest rates come down, the business will gain momentum once again if consumers, vendors, and installers can navigate the byzantine rules of the IRA meant to encourage American friendly supply chains. Since China dominates this business, expect to pay more to buy American or from nations friendly to our trade rules.  Environmentalists clash with nativists. 

 

Name: Franklin Myers
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-02-26 Shares Bought: 4,180 Average Price Paid: $58.94 Cost: $246,369
Company: HF Sinclair Corp (DINO)

HF Sinclair Corp is an independent energy firm that manufactures and distributes high-value light goods such as gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, renewable diesel, and other specialized products. The company was incorporated in Delaware in 1947 and has its primary offices at 2828 N. Harwood, Suite 1300, Dallas, Texas. HollyFrontier Corp. and Holly Energy Partners, which have interests and assets in Oklahoma, have formed HF Sinclair Corp. as their new parent holding company after acquiring Sinclair Oil Corp. and Sinclair Transportation from The Sinclair Companies. HF Sinclair will continue to operate refineries in Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Wyoming, Washington, and Utah, with refined products transported across 19 states. In Oklahoma and other states, the business will also offer petroleum product and crude oil transportation, storage, and throughput services to the petroleum industry.

Mr. Myers has been the Chairperson of the Board since February 2019. Mr. Myers has been a senior advisor with Quantum Energy Partners, a private equity business, since February 2013. Mr. Myers worked as an operating adviser for Paine & Partners, LLC, a private equity firm, from 2009 to 2012, and as a Senior adviser to Cameron International Corporation, a publicly traded manufacturer of flow equipment products, from 2008 to 2009. He also served Cameron in several other capacities, including Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2003 to 2008, President of Cameron’s compression business from 1998 to 2001, and Senior Vice President and General Counsel between 1995 and 1999. Mr. Myers also worked as Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Baker Hughes Incorporated from 1988 to 1995, as well as an associate and eventually a partner at Fulbright & Jaworski (now Norton Rose Fulbright) from 1978 to 1988.

Opinion: The numbers are all looing great for HF, the combination of Holly Frontier and HF Sinclair, two of the largest independent refineries in the country.  According to Capsule

Here is a summary of HF Sinclair’s financial metrics over the past five years:. All the numbers look great except the moribund stock price. You can get great value in an overpriced market but investors are paralyzed by visions of net zero carbons and the death of the ICE automobile.  The fact on the ground show the death of internal combustions cars has been greatly delayed if not DOA as EVs gather dust on dealer’s parking lots.

Name: Charlotte A Swafford
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-02-27 Shares Bought: 10,000 Average Price Paid: $58.69 Cost: $586,882
Company: National Health Investors Inc (NHI)

National Health Investors, Inc., a Maryland corporation founded in 1991, is a self-managed REIT that specializes in sale-leaseback, joint venture, and mortgage and mezzanine financing for need-driven and discretionary senior housing and medical facility investments. The company operates in two reportable segments: Real Estate Investments and Senior Housing Operating Portfolios. The company’s Real Estate interests section includes real estate interests as well as leases, mortgages, and other notes receivable in independent living facilities, assisted living facilities, fee-based communities, senior living campuses, skilled nursing institutions, and a hospital. Because their leases represent different underlying revenue sources and risk profiles, they divide their senior housing properties into two categories: need-driven (assisted living facilities and senior living campuses) and discretionary (independent living facilities and entrance-fee communities). The company’s SHOP sector consists of 15 independent living facilities situated around the United States.

Charlotte A. Swafford joined National Health Investors Inc. as a director in May 2020. Ms. Swafford worked as Senior Vice President and Treasurer at National Healthcare Corporation from 1985 until her retirement on December 31, 2016. She joined NHC in 1973 and worked as a Staff Accountant, Accounting Manager, and Assistant Treasurer. Ms. Swafford holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Tennessee Technological University.

Opinion:  Health care REITS have been punished in share price along with the crumbling office market RETS. I think the fundamentals are very different between work from home and assisted living.  Although there is a  clear trend for seniors to want to say in their homes longer, at some point, it becomes untenable and the children push them out. All this works if they can pay the heft costs. I’d stick with HR and PEAK in the medical REIT area as their income stream seems more secure.

Name: Jeffrey R Knudson
Position: CFO
Transaction Date: 2024-02-28 Shares Bought: 6,951 Average Price Paid: $57.75 Cost: $401,420
Company: Amn Healthcare Services Inc (AMN)

AMN Healthcare empowers the future of care by providing the nation’s largest network of highly qualified healthcare professionals. As the pioneer and developer in comprehensive talent solutions for the US healthcare industry, they personalize their solutions to the client’s workforce needs and goals, as well as provide staffing, talent optimization techniques, and technology solutions to support caregivers and patient care. The company solutions help their clients develop a sustainable workforce, increase efficiency, and improve the patient experience. The company provides temporary and permanent work opportunities for its healthcare professionals, including nurses, doctors, and allied health professionals, as well as healthcare leaders and executives, in a range of settings across the country. As care delivery settings expand, the company strategy is geared to support an increase in the number and size of client interactions, as well as the extension of the markets we serve. 

Jeffrey R. Knudson is AMN Healthcare’s Chief Financial Officer, where he oversees finance, internal audit, tax, accounting, and customer support activities. Mr. Knudson previously worked as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Supply Chain at At Home Group, Inc. He was in charge of accounting, financial planning and analysis, treasury, investor relations, internal audit, and supply chain activities. Before joining At Home Group, Inc., he held various leadership positions at CVS Health and CVS Caremark Corp., including Senior Vice President of Finance and Retail Controller. Mr. Knudson brings to AMN Healthcare a strong commitment to the community and social imperatives, which will assist the organization in continuing to expand and execute its purpose and financial goals. Mr. Knudson earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from the University of San Diego.

Opinion: There is no question there is a shortage of medical workers to take care of a rapidly aging population. Why is the stock not working better?

  1. Dismal Q4 2023 Results: AMN Healthcare’s Q4 2023 results were not up to the mark, with the majority of its segments reporting disappointing results12.
  2. Margin Pressure: The company is facing substantial margin pressure as clients reassess their workforce demands3This has led to a reset in the company’s margins for 20243.
  3. Lowered Price Target: The price target for AMN Healthcare was lowered by Baird from $90 to $764, and by JMP Securities from $92 to $874, which could have contributed to the negative sentiment around the stock.

Name: Michael K. Hooks
Position: Executive Chair
Transaction Date: 2024-02-22 Shares Bought: 12,500 Average Price Paid: $42.82 Cost: $535,250
Company: Malibu Boats Inc. (MBUU)

Malibu Boats Inc., founded in 1982 in Merced, California, is a recognized designer, producer, and marketer of recreational powerboats, including performance sport boats, sterndrives, and outboards, under eight brands: Malibu, Axis, Pursuit, Maverick, Cobia, Pathfinder, Hewes, and Cobalt. The premium brand product portfolio is utilized for a wide range of recreational boating activities, including water sports like water skiing, wakeboarding, and wake surfing, as well as regular boating and fishing. The company’s commitment to continuous innovation, which has resulted in proprietary technology such as Surf Gate, has enabled them to broaden the market for their goods by introducing consumers to new and exciting leisure activities. The company creates goods that appeal to a growing number of recreational boaters and water sports enthusiasts whose enthusiasm for boating and water sports is an important part of their lifestyle, while also providing consumers with a more customer-inspired experience.

Mr. Hooks has been a director of the LLC since 2006, and he joined the Board of Directors in 2014 in conjunction with the IPO. He co-founded Black Canyon Capital LLC and has served as its managing director since 2004. Mr. Hooks previously served as co-head of Credit Suisse First Boston’s Los Angeles office and as a managing director at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette’s Los Angeles office. Mr. Hooks also serves on the boards of directors for JDC Healthcare Management, Saunders & Associates, and TASI Holdings, all of which are private companies. He has served on the boards of directors of Virgin America, Logan’s Roadhouse, and Switchcraft, as well as the Supervisory Board of Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology, a publicly traded corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Hooks holds a degree in economics from Princeton University and an M.B.A. with distinction from the Wharton School of Business.

Opinion:

The recent stumble in Malibu Boats’ stock (MBUU) could be attributed to a few key factors but none more important than high interest rates and inflation taking a bite out of big ticket recreational items. Capsule has a few other explanations as well.

  1. Leadership Changes: Malibu Boats announced that Jack Springer will be departing as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on or before May 17, 202412. Leadership changes can often lead to uncertainty and volatility in a company’s stock.
  2. Market Performance: The stock has been experiencing a bearish pattern, as indicated by the Commodity Channel Index3Additionally, the stock reached a new 52-week low, which often leads to negative investor sentiment3.

Name: James Lawrence Dolan
Position: Executive Chairman / CEO
Transaction Date: 2024-02-26 Shares Bought: 59,374 Average Price Paid: $41.11 Cost: $2,441,017
Company: Sphere Entertainment Co. (SPHR)

Name: Kristin A Dolan
Position: Director & CEO
Transaction Date: 2024-02-26 Shares Bought: 59,374 Average Price Paid: $41.11 Cost: $2,441,017
Company: Sphere Entertainment Co. (SPHR)

Sphere Entertainment Co., formerly Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. and MSG Entertainment Spinco, Inc., is a Delaware corporation headquartered at Two Pennsylvania Plaza in New York, NY 10121. The Company was established on November 21, 2019, as a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Madison Square Garden Sports Corp., formerly known as The Madison Square Garden Company. Sphere Entertainment Co. is a premier live entertainment and media firm with two reportable segments: Sphere and MSG Networks. Sphere is a next-generation entertainment medium, and MSG Networks operates two regional sports and entertainment networks, as well as a direct-to-consumer and authenticated streaming service. Sphere: This portion represents Sphere, a next-generation entertainment medium powered by cutting-edge technologies that we believe will enable multi-sensory storytelling on an unprecedented scale. MSG Networks: This section includes the Company’s regional sports and entertainment networks, MSG Network and MSG Sportsnet, as well as its direct-to-consumer streaming service, MSG+. MSG Networks serves the New York Designated Market Area.

Mr. Dolan has been a director, Executive Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of the company since November 2019. Mr. Dolan has also been a director and the Executive Chairman and CEO of Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. since December 2022, as well as a director and the Executive Chairman of Madison Square Garden Sports Corp., since 2015. Mr. Dolan has been Non-Executive Chairman of AMC Networks Inc. since February 2023, having previously served in that post from September 2020 to December 2022. He has also been a director since 2011.  He served as President of Cablevision from 1998 to 2014, as well as Chief Executive Officer of Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc., a former programming subsidiary of Cablevision that was split off in 2011 to create AMC Networks, from 1992 to 1995. He also served as Vice President of Cablevision from 1987 to 1992. In addition, Mr. Dolan was a Cablevision director from 1991 to 2016.

Kristin A Dolan has been a Director of the Company since April 2020. She has been the CEO of AMC Networks Inc. since February 2023. Before that, she launched 605, LLC, an audience measurement and data analytics firm in the media and entertainment industries, where she served as CEO from 2016 to February 2023 and as Non-Executive Chairman until September 2023. Ms. Dolan formerly worked at Cablevision as President of Optimum Services from 2013 to 2014, Senior Executive Vice President of Product Management and Marketing from 2011 to 2013, and Senior Vice President from 2003 to 2011. Ms. Dolan has been a director of The Wendy’s Company since 2017, having previously served on the boards of Revlon, Inc. from 2017 to May 2023, AMC Networks from 2011 to March 2023, Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. from 2015 to 2021, MSG Networks Inc. from 2010 to 2015 and from 2018 until the Company’s merger in July 2021, and Cablevision from 2010 to 2016.

Opinion: My view is go to the Sphere and not buy it.

Name: JANA Partners Management LP
Position: 10% Owner
Transaction Date: 2024-02-26 Shares Bought: 377,913 Average Price Paid: $29.26 Cost: $11,057,678
Company: Mercury Systems Inc (MRCY)

Mercury Systems, Inc. is a technology company that delivers processing power for the most demanding aerospace and defense applications. Based in Andover, Massachusetts, their end-to-end processing infrastructure enables a variety of aerospace and defense programs to be tailored for mission success in some of the most harsh and demanding environments. The processing capabilities of the firm platform include signal solutions, display, software applications, networking, storage, and secure processing. Their innovative solutions are mission-ready, software-defined, open, and modular, and they meet their clients’ existing cost and schedule requirements by letting them employ or modify products based on their purpose. At its most basic, they link what they do to their customers’ tasks, aiding those whose safety, security, and freedom are critical. Mercury’s capabilities, technology, people, and R&D investment plan all contribute to its competitive advantage in their business.

JANA Partners Management, LP is a private money management firm that beneficially owns the securities mentioned herein through various accounts that it manages and controls. JANA Partners Management GP, LLC is JANA’s general partner. Barry Rosenstein is the senior managing member of the GP and the indirect control person for JANA. JANA, the GP, and Barry Rosenstein disclaim any beneficial ownership of any of the Issuer’s securities reported above, save for any pecuniary interest they may have.

Opinion: Jana Partners is putting the screws on but it hasn’t helped the share price yet.

Name: Andrew Kenner
Position: SVP, Olefin Material & Corp Pr
Transaction Date: 2024-02-22 Shares Bought: 10,000 Average Price Paid: $22.12 Cost: $221,160
Company: Westlake Chemical Partners LP (WLKP)

Westlake is a global diversified industrial firm that manufactures and distributes important products that improve people’s daily lives throughout the world. Westlake Chemical Partners LP was formed in March 2014 by Westlake as a Delaware limited partnership to operate, acquire, and develop ethylene-producing plants and related assets. The company products, currently under the {One Westlake~ brand, furnish the necessary building blocks for everyday items throughout housing, infrastructure, packaging, healthcare, automotive, and consumer goods. Consumers benefit from Westlake’s materials used in food packaging, medical equipment, soaps and detergents, automobile interiors, fashion, toys, shoes, furniture, electronics, siding, stone veneer, windows, outdoor living, roofing, and pipe and fittings. Westlake is happy to contribute to a sustainable future by developing vital items that improve your life every day.

Mr. Kenner, who has been a member of the company’s senior executive team since July 2008, will oversee all chemical manufacturing, engineering, and project management activities. Mr. Kenner has more than 20 years of engineering, operations, and manufacturing leadership experience, most recently serving as Vice President and General Manager of Valero Energy Corporation’s Delaware City Refinery. He has led analogous businesses in Houston and Texas City, Texas. Mr. Kenner holds a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Opinion:

Name: Thomas Durkin
Position: CEO and President
Transaction Date: 2024-02-23 Shares Bought: 50,000 Average Price Paid: $6.12 Cost: $306,155
Company: AG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc. (MITT)

AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. is a residential mortgage REIT that invests in a diverse risk-adjusted portfolio of residential mortgage-related assets in the US mortgage market. Over time, they hope to offer their stockholders with attractive risk-adjusted returns, principally through dividends and capital appreciation. The company’s primary investment emphasis is on acquiring and securitizing freshly generated residential mortgage loans in the non-agency part of the housing market. The company finance its acquired loans on a short-term basis using various financing lines, and they use Angelo, Gordon & Co., L.P.’s unique securitization platform to source long-term, non-recourse, non-mark-to-market financing when market conditions allow. They are also involved in mortgage banking activities because of the investment in Arc Home. 

Mr. Durkin joined Angelo, Gordon & Co., L.P. (TPG Angelo Gordon) in 2008 and is currently the Managing Director and Head of the Structured Credit & Specialty Finance business. Mr. Durkin also serves as co-portfolio Manager for TPG Angelo Gordon’s structured credit securities portfolios. Mr. Durkin is the Chief Executive Officer and President, having previously served as Chief Investment Officer from October 2017 to April 2021. Mr. Durkin has also been a member of the Board of Directors since 2018. Mr. Durkin also serves on the board of Arc Home LLC, a mortgage originator and GSE-certified servicer owned by the Company and its affiliates, TPG Angelo Gordon. Mr. Durkin received his bachelor’s degree in finance from Fordham University and is currently a member of the school’s President’s Council. He is also a board member of VE International, a non-profit organization dedicated to preparing high school students for college and careers through entrepreneurship-based education.

Opinion: This is way to difficult to figure out.

Name: Akbar Mohamed
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-02-28 Shares Bought: 152,450 Average Price Paid: $6.92 Cost: $1,054,954
Company: Sunnova Energy International Inc. (NOVA)

Sunnova Energy International Inc. is an industry-leading energy services provider dedicated to making clean energy more accessible, dependable, and affordable for households and businesses. The company serves over 419,000 clients in 45 states and territories across the United States. To fulfill its purpose of enabling energy independence, the company uses its adaptive energy platform to give a better energy service at a lower cost. The company works with local dealers and contractors to create, design, and install solar energy systems, energy storage systems, and related products and services for the customers, as well as other sustainable home solutions like home security and monitoring, smart home devices, modern heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, generators, upgraded roofing, water systems, water heaters, main panel upgrades, and electric vehicle chargers. The company provides consumers with goods and services to power and improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of their homes and businesses, as well as inexpensive solar energy.

Mr. Mohamed was appointed to Sunnova’s board in December 2020. Mohamed has been president of Prime Communications, LP, the largest AT&T-authorized store in the United States, since January 2010. He directs Prime’s growth strategy, which includes retail store acquisitions from AT&T and GameStop. He also founded and serves as Chairman of Prime’s retail subsidiary brands, which include Prime Canada, the largest Rogers Wireless authorized store. Outside of Prime, Akbar is an entrepreneur who has started multiple businesses, including GamesPlus, Prepaid Works, and Wireless Works. Before joining Prime, Mohamed worked as an investment professional at Hicks Muse, a Dallas-based private equity firm, and as a mergers and acquisitions specialist at Goldman Sachs. He is currently a trustee and vice chairman of Awty International School, and he has previously served on the Aga Khan Economic Planning Board as a national member and chairman of Nizari Credit Union. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from the University of Illinois and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Opinion:  All energy investing, both fossil fuels and alternatives are having a poor to miserable time.  It just might be time to buy straw hats in the Winter.


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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 with any stock market experience 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 of 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, we analyze unusual patterns with selling, 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, are horrendously poor. Also, planned sales that 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 on which we are trying to read the tea leaves. I say generally because some 10% shareholders are great investors. Think Warren  Buffett 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.

A big callout to my assistant Ambreen who sets up this conversation by listing the notable buys that I’ve identified.  She probes the 10k for a reasonable description of the business. I’ve found that to be the most accurate and succinct place to find out what a business actually does.

This blog is solely for educational purposes and the author’s own amusement.  Think of the blog as part of my personal investment journal that I am willing to share with the DIY investor.  There are also many parts that I am not willing to share if I think it could influence trading action or be detrimental to the Fund’s partners. We could be long, short, or have no position at all in any of the stocks mentioned and express no written or implied obligation to disclose any of that.

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
The Insiders Fund
Alpha Wealth Funds
Insomniac Hedge Fund Guy
hsax@alphawealthfunds.com

 

 

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