W. John Short (Insider Trades), CEO of RiceBran Technologies (RIBT), bought 10,000 shares of the company on March 31. The average price per share was $1.20 for a total transaction cost of $12,000. RiceBran Technologies is a production and marketing company of products derived from rice bran. The company has a market cap of $11.85 million and a P/S ratio of 0.26.
The number of RIBT insider buys increased from two transactions totaling 7,000 shares in 2013 to eight insider buys totaling 46,000 shares in the following year. The number of insider buys decreased by half in 2015, with insiders acquiring 27,000 shares that year. Short purchased 32,000 shares of the company since 2013 in six transactions, including the aforementioned acquisition. Short’s earliest transaction of 2,000 shares at an average per share price of $5.44, decreased by about 70% in value since then. RIBT’s month end price decreased by more than 50% in the last two months of 2013, which corresponds to an increase in insider buy number and volume. 
For more information about insider transactions with RIBT, click here.
The company reported net loss of $1.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, a decrease of 56% when compared to net loss of $3.2 million in the prior year quarter. Gross profit also improved by 200% from $900,000 to $2.7 million in the fourth quarters of 2015 and 2014. Consolidated revenues for the fourth quarter of 2015 amounted to $9.9 million, compared to consolidated revenues of $10.7 million in the year-ago quarter. RIBT annual net revenue increased 2.35% since 2011, and annual net income also increased by 2.77% in the same period of time. 
Short said the company “delivered significant improvement in consolidated bottom line results despite essentially flat revenues.” On March 24 the company announced the completion of the legal process necessary for the release of $1.9 million that was held in escrow since the company’s acquisition of Irgovel in 2008. The company received final judgment in its favor for a total of $1.9 million plus interest, which is expected to become available to the company by March 2016. Short said the release of the $1.9 million held in escrow will “close the book on [the company’s] 2008 purchase of Irgovel.”
According to GuruFocus.com information, RiceBran Technologies has a business predictability rank of 1 out of 5 stars. For more information about business predictability rank, click here.
Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) acquired a new stake in the company, buying 10,400 shares at an average per share price of $2.06 in the final quarter of 2015. For more information about guru transactions with RIBT, click here.
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