Health and Healthcare

7 Biotech Stocks Insiders Are Loading Up On

Trey Thoelcke

Published: August 22, 2018 12:30 pm

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 6:59 pm

Biotechnology stocks have a reputation for being some of the most speculative, most volatile stocks out there. Investors and would-be investors have to stay alert to avoid getting burned. One encouraging sign in any company is when insiders put their money where their mouth is and buy shares. Lately, some insiders at biotech companies have been doing just that, sometimes taking advantage of share price moves (not to mention buy windows opening up) in the wake of the release of quarterly reports.

Here are seven biotech stocks that have seen some notable insider trading recently:

A Corcept Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CORT) director has purchased more than 285,000 shares so far this month. At prices that ranged from $12.25 to $12.80 per share, that totaled more than $3.5 million. The stock tumbled after the company posted disappointing quarterly results recently, but the share price is still more than a buck higher than the top of the above purchase range.

The Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRPT) president and chief executive officer, Douglas Ingram, last week bought 16,000 shares at an average price of $125.26. That cost him around $2.0 million. The company recently posted better than expected top-line results for the latest quarter. The share price has gained about 5% since Ingram’s purchase.

Ocular Therapeutix Inc.’s (NASDAQ: OCUL) CEO Antony Mattessich and its chief financial officer have together acquired more than 49,000 shares this month. That totaled almost $303,000, at share prices of between $5.93 and $6.29. The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results earlier this month, and the share price has climbed about 11% since the beginning of August.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: RIGL) saw its CEO and president, Raul Rodriguez, pick up 114,000 shares last week. The average share price was $2.63, and the transaction totaled about $300,000. The buy followed a quarterly report that surprised to the upside on revenues. The stock thus far is trading around 7% higher than the CEO’s purchase price.

An Athenex Inc. (NASDAQ: ATNX) director picked up 5,000 shares this week, at an average cost of $17.20 per share. That cost the director about $86,000, and the purchase came at about the same time as the announcement that a new chief financial officer had been selected. The share price has risen about 20 cents or so since that director stepped up to the buy window.

Voyager Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: VYGR) also saw a director at the buy window last week. At an average of $18.31 apiece, the 3,000 shares reportedly acquired cost that director less than $55,000. Here too, a disappointing earnings report had shares down, offering an entry point. The stock was last seen up more than 12% from the purchase price, so seemingly a well-timed buy.

And La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co. (NASDAQ: LJPC) had its chief operating officer and its chief science officer each add 1,000 shares to their stakes. At between $20.90 and $22.00 per share, the total for the transactions was more $42,000. These executives took advantage of the sell-off following a disappointing earnings report, and they have seen a quick gain of 14% or more.