Huge Market Sell-Off Sparks Some Gigantic Insider Buying

Investing

Published: October 18, 2014 9:10 am

Nothing like the biggest market sell-off in years to get insiders’ taste buds warmed up to do some buying. With the market within one more bad day or so of a full-fledged correction, many insiders took the opportunity to initiate positions or add to existing holdings. If Friday’s rally is a glimpse of possible things to come, they may have picked the best time to buy in years.

We cover insider buying activity each week at 24/7, and while just because insiders are buying stock doesn’t mean immediate good things are set to happen at a company, it does show conviction. In a rocky, volatile market, that can be comforting to existing shareholders.

Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) saw a gigantic purchase this week. A director at the company bought a staggering 1.25 million shares of the stock at prices that ranged from $60.68 to $62.80. The total tab for the huge purchase came to $77.3 million. Now that is very bullish for current shareholders of the giant pharmacy company. Shares closed trading Friday at $60.27.

Energy Transfer Equity L.P. (NYSE: ETE) is another company that had a director step up to the plate and make a gigantic insider purchase this week. Kelcy Warren bought a total of 1,178,567 shares of the stock at prices ranging from $49.01 to $53.55. The final ticket for the huge buy was $60.5 million. The stock was trading at Friday’s close at $57.65, so the purchase at least for now, looks very timely indeed.

ALSO READ: The Best of UBS’s Big List of Quality Stocks to Buy Now

Altisource Asset Management Corp. (NYSE: AAMC) continues to hit our insider buying screens. For the third time in the past six weeks, 10% owner Luxor Capital Management bought stock this week. The company picked up 22,842 shares at $625 to $659 a piece. The cost for the purchase was a tidy $14.9 million. The stock was traded Friday as high as $710.89, looking like another very timely trade, but they ended the week at $665.01.

Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ALSN) is another company returning to our insider screens. A 10% owner, ValueAct, added 200,000 shares of the stock at prices from $27.07 to $27.60. The final tab for the buy came to $5.5 million. The shares were changing hands at $28.64 on Friday’s close, yet another seemingly very well-timed buy.

Entegris Inc. (NASDAQ: ENTG) is another company that returns to the insider screens this week. A 10% owner, GMT Capital, added to its holdings when it bought 313,000 shares at prices that ranged from $11.00 to $11.70. The total purchase came to $3.5 million. The stock ended trading at $11.38 on Friday.

ALSO READ: Top Biotech Stocks That Could Explode Higher After Huge Sell-Off

Other companies that saw significant insider buying this past week include Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD), ProPhase Labs Inc. (NASDAQ: PRPH) and Interface Inc. (NASDAQ: TILE).

We encourage our readers to check in every weekend, to see if a stock they own or are looking at for their portfolio makes our insider buying report.

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