Huge Biotech Trade Highlights Insider Selling as Market Hits Record Highs

We cover insider selling every week at 24/7 Wall St., and we like to always remind our readers that just because an individual or 10% institutional owner sells stock, that is no cause for immediate alarm. Many top executives and even directors are compensated with stock, and often they sell just to diversify or purchase other assets.

Here are companies that reported notable insider selling this past week.

Receptos Inc. (NASDAQ: RCPT) had a director of the company do some serious selling last week. Edward Torres hit the bid with 220,000 shares of the stock at prices that ranged from $175.54 to $182.89. The total for the sale came to a gigantic $39.4 million. Receptos is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapeutics in immune disorders. Shares ended trading on Friday at $186.03, so some serious money was left on the table.

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G-III Apparel Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: GIII) had a 10% owner thin the herd this week. Morris Goldfarb headed to the sell desk and dropped 105,291 shares of the stock on the tape at prices between $67.07 and $68.36. The total for the sale came to a whopping $7.1 million. The company designs, manufactures and markets women’s and men’s apparel. The stock was trading at $69.17 on Friday’s close, so a fair amount was left on the table.

Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE: CSC) had two executive vice presidents at the company selling shares this past week. The pair sold a combined total of 55,016 shares of the stock at prices that ranged from $67.92 to $68.45. The total for the sales came to $3.7 million. The stock closed trading Friday at $67.71.

Lumos Networks Corp. (NASDAQ: LMOS) had a director of the company at the sell window this week. That director parted with 600,000 shares of the stock at $14.80 apiece. The total for the sale came to $8.9 million. The company provides fiber-based bandwidth infrastructure and service in the Mid-Atlantic region. The stock ended the week at $15.36.

Foundation Medicine Inc. (NASDAQ: FMI) had a pretty well-known 10% owner decide to sell some of the stock this past week. Google Ventures shed a total of 168,126 shares of the stock at prices that ranged from $32.33 to $33.72. The total for the sale came to $5.5 million. The company provides various molecular information products in the United States. The stock closed trading on Friday at $31.64.

These companies also reported insider selling this week: Diamond Hill Investment Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DHIL), Heartland Express Inc. (NASDAQ: HTLD), HubSpot Inc. (NYSE: HUBS), Infoblox Inc. (NYSE: BLOX) and LHC Group Inc. (NASDAQ: LHCG).

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All in all, a very quiet week for insider selling. That may be one of the best market indicators, despite the lofty heights the indexes were hitting this week.