Investing

Insider Buying Solid Despite Roller-Coaster Market Volatility

If any week was a ride for investors, it was this past week. Trading was marked with huge up and down swings and a rise and fall in volatility. Generally, this is the kind of market action that would make strategists nervous. It is also the kind of volatility you start to see as the quarter draws to a close and portfolio managers try to wring as much performance out as they possibly can. It is a difficult chore with essentially a flat market for the first three months of 2015.

We cover insider buying every week at 24/7 Wall Street, and once again the executives, directors and 10% owners were out in full force, purchasing the stock of their companies. This is an overall positive sign for the stock market, as continued insider buying shows investor confidence in the future.

Here are companies that saw significant insider buying this past week.

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) had a director make a very substantial purchase this past week. The director bought 844,130 shares of the stock at prices that ranged from $16.20 to $16.30. The total came to a whopping $13.7 million. The company engages in the acquisition, renovation, leasing and operating single-family home rental properties in the United States. Shares closed trading on Friday at $16.37.

Conns Inc. (NASDAQ: CONN) had a 10% owner of the retail electronics company step up and purchase stock last week. Anchorage Capital Group bought a block of 304,900 shares at $27.90 apiece. The total of the buy came to a tidy $8.5 million. The stock ended trading on Friday at $27.39.

American Assets Trust Inc. (NYSE: AAT) had somebody right at the top buying stock this week. The executive chairman of the company purchased a block of 200,000 shares at $40.50 apiece. The total of the buy came to about $8.1 million. The company owns, operates, acquires and develops retail, office, multifamily and mixed-use properties, primarily in California and Hawaii. The shares were trading on Friday’s close at $41.94, so a well-timed buy.

Radius Health Inc. (NASDAQ: RDUS) had a 10% institutional owner buying shares this week. Biotech Growth bought a 75,000 share block of the company’s stock at $47.08 a share. The total for the buy came to $3.5 million. The company focuses on developing novel therapeutics for patients with osteoporosis and other serious endocrine-mediated diseases in the United States. The stock ended the week at $47.36.

Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. (NYSE: HLX) saw its chief executive officer buy stock this week, in a move that shareholders should applaud. Owen Kratz picked up 71,500 shares of the stock at prices that ranged from $13.98 to $14.00. The total for the buy came to about $1 million. The shares closed trading on Friday at $13.48.

ALSO READ: The Top 8 Dividend Stocks Owned by Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway

These companies also reported insider buying in the past week: Dominion Resources Inc. (NYSE: D), DURECT Corp. (NASDAQ: DRRX), Energy Transfer Partner L.P. (NYSE: ETP), Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN) and Tallgrass Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: TEP).

The increase in insiders buying energy stocks is positive. We will be tracking this closely as we move into the second quarter of the year.

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