Weekly CEO Buys Highlight: Antigenics Inc., Ruby Tuesday Inc., NL Industries Inc., and Zale Corp.

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Jan 21, 2008
Weekly CEO Buys Highlight: Related Companies: Antigenics Inc. (AGEN, Financial), Ruby Tuesday Inc. (RT, Financial), NL Industries Inc. (NL, Financial), and Zale Corp. (ZLC, Financial).


Antigenics Inc. (AGEN): Chairman and CEO Garo H. Armen Bought 1,708,717 Shares


Antigenics, Inc. (AGEN) reported a third quarter loss of $11.5 million or $0.25 per share compared to the previous year of $11.2 million or $0.24 per share. For the first nine-month in 2007, AGEN boosted their revenues to $4.7 million compared to $372,000 in 2006. The company recently agreed to receive $26.1 million in private placements. The biotechnology company develops treatments for cancers and infectious diseases. It offers Oncophage, a personalized therapeutic cancer vaccine candidate, which is in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of renal cell car.


Chairman and CEO of Antigenics Inc. Garo H. Armen bought 1,708,717 shares on 01/09/08 at $2.41. In mid-September of 2007, Chairman and CEO Armen bought another 50,000 shares at $2.33.


Antigenics Inc. has a market cap of $118.45 million; its shares were traded at around $2.41 with P/S ratio of 23.02.


Ruby Tuesday Inc. (RT): CEO Samuel E. Beall III Bought 350,000 Shares


The casual dining franchise, Ruby Tuesday, Inc. (RT), took in a loss of $10.4 million, or $0.20 a share for the second quarter ended in December, compared to a profit of $16.7 million, or $0.28 a year ago. The restaurant chain reported that their same-store sales in restaurant owned stores, and franchise owned stores dropped by 10.8%, and 8.7%, respectively. Ruby Tuesday’s shares recently are at its ten year low of around $5.70 a share.


Currently, both John Keeley and David Dreman own holdings in Ruby Tuesday.


CEO Samuel E. Beall III bought 350,000 shares of RT stock on last Friday at $5.99.


Other large insider buys were made between $5.94 and $15.75 since October of 2007:


Director Bernard Lanigan Jr. bought a total of 207,799 shares; Director James A. Haslam III bought 144,399 shares; Director Stephen Sadove I bought 75,000 shares; Sr. Vice President-Operations Kimberly Grant bought 6,000 shares; and finally, VP-Investor Relations&Planning Shannon Hepp bought a total of 1,800 shares.


Ruby Tuesday Inc. has a market cap of $350.61 million; its shares were traded at around $6.28 with P/E ratio of 6.79 and P/S ratio of 0.23. The dividend yield of Ruby Tuesday Inc. stocks is 5.9%.


NL Industries Inc. (NL): Chairman of the Board and CEO, Director, 10% Owner Harold C. Simmons Bought 55,100 Shares


NL Industries, Inc. (NL), suffered a third quarter net loss of $16 million or $0.33 in 2007, compared to a third quarter income of $3.3 million or $0.07 in 2006. The company faced a decrease in sales as competition rise from lower-priced Asian manufacturers. NL manufactures furniture and security components through its subsidiary, CompX International, Inc. NL also has 36% interest in the titanium oxide manufacturer Kronos Worldwide, Inc.


Chairman of the Board and CEO, Director, and the current 10% Owner of NL Industries Inc. Harold C. Simmons bought 55,100 shares on 01/11/08 at $9.92. Since November, Simmons has purchased a total of 117, 000 shares of NL stock at $9.14 to $9.94.


Industries Inc. has a market cap of $483.98 million; its shares were traded at around $9.92 with P/E ratio of 284.57 and P/S ratio of 2.69. The dividend yield of NL Industries Inc. stocks is 5.2%.


Zale Corp. (ZLC): President & CEO, Director Neal Goldberg Bought 11,000 Shares


The jewelry retailer, Zale Corporation (ZLC) made plans to close 60 of its stores: Zales, Gordon’s, and Piercing Pagoda. The company had lower than expected sales during the holiday season, where same-store sales dropped by 9% in November and December. ZLC widened their loss to $28.4 million or $0.58 in its first quarter ended in 10/31/07, compared to a loss of $26.4 million or $0.55 in 2006. The company said much of their loss has been owed to lower traffic in malls. Last September, Zales sold its Bailey Banks & Biddle chain for about $200 million to Finlay Enterprises Inc.


Robert Rodriguez increased his holdings by 24% to 2,205,000 shares as of 12/31/07.


President & CEO, Director of Zale Corp. Neal Goldberg bought 11,000 shares on 01/14/08 at $12.81. Other insider buys were made this week by EVP, CAO and CFO Rodney Carter, who bought 5,000 shares at $13.74; EVP, Chief Sourcing Officer Gilbert P. Hollander, who bought 3,735 at $13.38; and Director Thomas C. Shull, who bought 5,000 shares at $13.55. The current 10% Owner, Capital Management Llc Breeden, bought a total of 5,705,000 shares between $15.66 and $16.21 since 12/28/07. One sell was made by the President of Bailey Banks and Biddle, Charles E. Fieramosca, who sold 14,904 shares 10/19/07 at $22.41.


Zale Corp. has a market cap of $636.07 million; its shares were traded at around $12.81 with P/E ratio of 12.25 and P/S ratio of 0.23.