There were several large insider buys reported from companies’ CEOs and CFOs in the past week. The following three companies reported the largest transactions in the past week. It is interesting to watch the insider transactions reported from corporate executives such as CEOs and CFOs because they have the most intimate knowledge of the workings and mechanics of their company.
GuruFocus research points out that top corporate executives like CEOs and CFOs are the best performers when studying insider trading. These executives are expected to be the best informed about their companies and in result, their trades have turned out to be the most profitable.
Trio Merger Corp (TRIO)
On May 28, CEO Eric Rosenfeld added 100,000 shares of Trio Merger to his stake. The shares traded at an average price of $10.07 per share. The total cost of this transaction amounted to $1,007,000. Rosenfeld now holds on to at least 1,192,374 shares of Trio Merger. Since this buy the price has increased 0.1%.
The CEO’s buy marks the first reported insider transaction for the company.
Trio Merger is a blank check company. The company was formed with the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition or other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities, which refer to as a target business. Its efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to any particular industry or geographic region.
As previously announced, Trio has entered into a definitive merger agreement with SAExploration Holdings (SAE), providing for a business combination in which SAE will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Trio upon the closing of the business combination. The business combination is expected to close this coming June.
Trio Merger has a market cap of $79.2 million; its shares were traded at around $10.08.
There are currently no gurus that hold stake in Trio Merger.
Apricus Biosciences (APRI)
On May 23, CEO Richard Pascoe bought 35,000 shares at an average price of $2.85 per share. This transaction cost the CEO a total of $99,750. Since this buy, the price has dropped 13.33%.
Senior VP and CFO Steven Martin also bought 20,000 shares at $2.85 per share costing him $57,000.
These transactions mark the first insider buys since Aug. 2012.
Apricus Biosciences is a hybrid specialty pharmaceutical company in the areas of oncology, sexual dysfunction, autoimmune and anti-infectives, among others. Its proprietary drug delivery technology is called NexACT and it has one approved drug using the NexACT delivery system, Vitaros, which is approved in Canada for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.
The analysis on Apricus Biosciences reports:
· The per share revenue has been in decline for the past five years.
· The gross margin has been in long term decline. The average rate of decline per year is -20%.
· The company’s sales outstanding and inventory are continually building up. This might mean that they’re having difficulty collecting payment or selling their goods.
On May 23, Apricus Biosciences priced $17.1 million public offering of common stock and warrants. The company priced an underwritten public offering of an aggregate of 6 million shares of common stock at a price of $2.85 per share, and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 3 million shares of common stock.
Apricus Biosciences has a market cap of $77.5 million; its shares were traded at around $2.47 with a P/S ratio of 8.50. Apricus had an annual average earnings growth of 5.7% over the past five years.
There are currently no gurus that hold stake in Apricus Biosciences.
Viasat (VSAT)
CFO Bruce Dirks bought 2,000 shares of ViaSat on May 23. The shares traded at an average price of $72.43 per share. This cost the CFO a total of $144,860. Since his buy the price per share has dropped -2.17%. His transaction marks the first insider buy of the year.
ViaSat produces satellite and other digital communication products that enable fast, secure and efficient communications to any location. The company provides fixed and mobile broadband services, satellite and wireless networks and secure networking systems, products and services. IT conducts its business through three segments: satellite services, commercial networks and government systems.
The analysis on ViaSat reports:
- The gross margin has been in a long-term decline. The average rate of decline per year is -2.7%.
- The company has issued $241.429 million of debt in the past three years.
- The company’s price and P/S ratio are close to 10-year highs of $71.57 and 2.9 respectively.
- The company has also had operating income loss over the past three years.
ViaSat has a market cap of $3.18 billion; its shares were traded at around $70.86 with a P/S ratio of 2.80.
There are currently three gurus that hold stake in ViaSat, Seth Klarman holding the most with 11 million shares.
Click here to see all CEO and CFO buys over the past week.
GuruFocus research points out that top corporate executives like CEOs and CFOs are the best performers when studying insider trading. These executives are expected to be the best informed about their companies and in result, their trades have turned out to be the most profitable.
Trio Merger Corp (TRIO)
On May 28, CEO Eric Rosenfeld added 100,000 shares of Trio Merger to his stake. The shares traded at an average price of $10.07 per share. The total cost of this transaction amounted to $1,007,000. Rosenfeld now holds on to at least 1,192,374 shares of Trio Merger. Since this buy the price has increased 0.1%.
The CEO’s buy marks the first reported insider transaction for the company.
Trio Merger is a blank check company. The company was formed with the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition or other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities, which refer to as a target business. Its efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to any particular industry or geographic region.
As previously announced, Trio has entered into a definitive merger agreement with SAExploration Holdings (SAE), providing for a business combination in which SAE will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Trio upon the closing of the business combination. The business combination is expected to close this coming June.
Trio Merger has a market cap of $79.2 million; its shares were traded at around $10.08.
There are currently no gurus that hold stake in Trio Merger.
Apricus Biosciences (APRI)
On May 23, CEO Richard Pascoe bought 35,000 shares at an average price of $2.85 per share. This transaction cost the CEO a total of $99,750. Since this buy, the price has dropped 13.33%.
Senior VP and CFO Steven Martin also bought 20,000 shares at $2.85 per share costing him $57,000.
These transactions mark the first insider buys since Aug. 2012.
Apricus Biosciences is a hybrid specialty pharmaceutical company in the areas of oncology, sexual dysfunction, autoimmune and anti-infectives, among others. Its proprietary drug delivery technology is called NexACT and it has one approved drug using the NexACT delivery system, Vitaros, which is approved in Canada for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.
The analysis on Apricus Biosciences reports:
· The per share revenue has been in decline for the past five years.
· The gross margin has been in long term decline. The average rate of decline per year is -20%.
· The company’s sales outstanding and inventory are continually building up. This might mean that they’re having difficulty collecting payment or selling their goods.
On May 23, Apricus Biosciences priced $17.1 million public offering of common stock and warrants. The company priced an underwritten public offering of an aggregate of 6 million shares of common stock at a price of $2.85 per share, and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 3 million shares of common stock.
Apricus Biosciences has a market cap of $77.5 million; its shares were traded at around $2.47 with a P/S ratio of 8.50. Apricus had an annual average earnings growth of 5.7% over the past five years.
There are currently no gurus that hold stake in Apricus Biosciences.
Viasat (VSAT)
CFO Bruce Dirks bought 2,000 shares of ViaSat on May 23. The shares traded at an average price of $72.43 per share. This cost the CFO a total of $144,860. Since his buy the price per share has dropped -2.17%. His transaction marks the first insider buy of the year.
ViaSat produces satellite and other digital communication products that enable fast, secure and efficient communications to any location. The company provides fixed and mobile broadband services, satellite and wireless networks and secure networking systems, products and services. IT conducts its business through three segments: satellite services, commercial networks and government systems.
The analysis on ViaSat reports:
- The gross margin has been in a long-term decline. The average rate of decline per year is -2.7%.
- The company has issued $241.429 million of debt in the past three years.
- The company’s price and P/S ratio are close to 10-year highs of $71.57 and 2.9 respectively.
- The company has also had operating income loss over the past three years.
ViaSat has a market cap of $3.18 billion; its shares were traded at around $70.86 with a P/S ratio of 2.80.
There are currently three gurus that hold stake in ViaSat, Seth Klarman holding the most with 11 million shares.
Click here to see all CEO and CFO buys over the past week.
