The largest insider buys this week were for JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM, Financial), The Simply Good Foods Co. (SMPL, Financial), Eiger BioPharmaceuticals Inc. (EIGR, Financial) and Geron Corp. (GERN, Financial).
JPMorgan director bought 14,600 shares
Director Mellody L. Hobson bought 14,600 shares on Jan. 15 for an average price of $136.39. The stock has increased by 1.33% since then.
JPMorgan is an American banking and financial services holding company and the largest bank in the United States. The company is also the world’s third-largest bank by total assets, totaling roughly $2.5 trillion. IT offers services in investment banking, asset management, private banking and private wealth management. The company has a market capitalization of $426.21 billion; as of Jan. 17, it traded at $138.20.
On Jan. 15, JPMorgan declared dividends on some of the company’s outstanding preferred stock. The dividends include a distribution of $153.13 per preferred share on the 6.125% non-cumulative preferred stock, Series Y, a distribution of $152.50 per preferred share on the 6.10% non-cumulative preferred stock, Series AA, and a distribution of $153.75 per preferred share on the 6.15% non-cumulative preferred stock, Series BB, among others. The dividends will be payable on March 1 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Jan. 31.
Simply Good Foods director bought 21,275 shares
Director Nomi Ghez bought 21,275 shares on Jan. 14 for an average price of $23.27. The share price has risen 8.25% since then.
Simply Good Foods is an American food processing company that focuses on producing and marketing nutrition bars, ready-to-drink shakes and snacks. The company markets its products under the Atkins, Quest, SimplyProtein and Atkins Endulge brands. The company has a market capitalization of $2.4 billion; as of Jan. 17, it traded at $25.19.
On Jan. 3, Simply Good Foods reported financial results for the first quarter of 2020, which ended on Nov. 7, 2019. It also completed the acquisition of Quest Nutrition LLC on Nov. 7. Net sales for the quarter increased 25.8% to $152.2 million compared to prior-year quarter. The gross profit margin was 40.9%, a decrease of 200 basis points compared to the gross profit margin a year ago. The net loss for the quarter was $4.8 million, compared to a net income of $15.3 million last year.
Eiger BioPharmaceuticals director bought 4,000 shares
Director Thomas John Dietz bought 4,000 shares on Jan. 10 for an average price of $13.94. Since then, the share price has climbed 1.08%.
Eiger BioPharmaceuticals is an American late-stage biopharmaceutical company that focuses on developing treatments for serious rare diseases. Its lead program is in phase 3 trials. The company has a market capitalization of $345.140 million; as of Jan. 17, it traded at $14.09.
On Jan. 7, Eiger BioPharmaceuticals announced that Eldon Mayer has been appointed executive vice president and chief commercial officer. Mayer has broad commercial experience in both large and specialty pharma, with multiple successful exits by acquisition. He resigned from the company’s board in order to focus on his new role as a member of the executive team.
Geron director bought 3,000 shares
Director Elizabeth G. O'Farrell bought 3,000 shares on Jan. 10 for an average price of $1.34. The stock has gained 5.22% since then.
Geron is an American biotechnology company that focuses on developing therapeutic products for cancer that work through telomerase inhibition. The company is a component of the Russell 2000. It has a market capitalization of $281.68 million; as of Jan. 17, it traded at $1.41.
On Jan. 16, Geron announced it has granted non-statutory stock options to purchase an aggregate of 98,000 shares of the company’s common stock as inducements to two newly hired employees in connection with commencement of employment with the company. The stock options were granted on Jan. 15 at a price of $1.49 per share.
For the complete list of stocks that were bought by their company executives, go to insider trades.
Disclosure: I do not own stock in any of the companies mentioned in the article.
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