Brian Beatty (Insider Trades), CEO, president and 10% owner of SAExploration Holdings Inc. (SAEX), bought 17,500 shares of the company on March 17. The average price per share was 85 cents for a total transaction cost of $14,875. SAExploration Holdings is an international oilfield service company that acquires data and conducts logistical support services in remote and complex environments throughout Alaska, Canada, South America and Southeast Asia. The company has a market cap of $14.62 million and a P/S ratio of 0.05.
The number and volume of SAEX insider buys increased from six transactions totaling 437,357 shares in 2013 to 19 transactions of 1,222,006 shares in 2014. The total number of insider buys in the next year more than halved, totaling eight transactions of 291,205 shares. Beatty’s aforementioned transaction is the sole insider trade year to date. Aside from this transaction, Beatty acquired 796,805 shares of the company in six transactions since 2013. Month end price decreased over three years starting in 2013, but the total number of insider buys per year spiked in 2014, corresponding to a more than 50% reduction of month end price over 12 months. 
For more information about insider transactions with SAExploration Holdings Inc., click here.
The company reported gross loss of $176,000 for the three months ended on Dec. 31, 2015. This is down from $4.918 million of gross profit reported in the year-ago quarter. Net loss also increased from $4.358 million to $8.939 million when comparing the same three month periods. Net loss did not follow the same trend, decreasing from $18.897 million or $1.27 per share in 2014, to $13.033 million or 75 cents per share in 2015. Beatty acknowledged that 2015 was “one of the most challenging periods” in the company’s history, and said that SAExploration was still “able to meaningfully improve operating margins” despite low revenues. Annual net revenue follows an increasing trend line, while annual net income follows a decreasing trend line. 
The company announced five new projects scheduled for the first half of 2016 worth $83 million collectively. The projects will cover onshore logistical support and seismic data acquisition services in North and South America. Beatty said that the company’s focus remains on maximizing cash flow and preserving liquidity.
Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) acquired a stake in SAExploration in the fourth quarter of 2015, purchasing 10,300 shares of the company at an average per share price of $2.40. Simons is the sole guru to trade with the company since Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) sold out 212,361 shares for an average per share price of $8.74 in the second quarter of 2014. The total estimated loss of the holding since its acquisition one year prior was 9%. For more information about guru trades with SAEX, click here.
For more stock trades of gurus in real time, visit GuruFocus’ Real Time Picks, a Premium Feature. Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Try it free for 7 days here.
