Investing

Huge Michael Dell Purchase Highlights Insider Buying: Dell Technologies, Accelerate Diagnostics, Loxo Oncology and More

Lee Jackson

Published: January 15, 2017 10:10 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 3:50 pm

24/7 Wall St. readers know the drill, and it happens four times a year. With the first earnings starting to hit the tape last week, the windows for insiders at public companies are starting to slam shut. While we did see a fair amount of volume, it was nothing compared to what we saw in the weeks leading up to the end of 2016.

We cover insider buying each week at 24/7 Wall St., and we like to remind readers that while insider buying is usually a very positive sign, it is not in of itself a reason to run out and buy a stock. Sometimes insiders and 10% owners have stock purchase plans set up at intervals to add to their holdings. That aside, it still remains an overall positive indicator.

Here are some of the companies that reported notable insider buying last week.

A very familiar technology face was acquiring shares of Dell Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: DVMT) last week. The legendary Michael Dell himself was purchased shares in the newest incarnation of the famed Dell franchise. He acquired a total of 254,545 shares at a very reduced price of $27.50, which could be option-related. The total for the trade was posted at $7 million.

The company provides a range of technology solutions worldwide. Its computing devices include desktop personal computers, notebooks and tablets; rack, blade, tower and hyperscale servers for enterprise customers; value tower servers for small organizations, networks and remote offices; networking solutions; and storage solutions, including storage area networks, network-attached and direct-attached storage and backup systems.

Dell Technologies shares closed last Friday at $58.17. The 52-week trading range for the shares is $42.02 to $57.76, and a consensus price target was unavailable.

Accelerate Diagnostics Inc. (NASDAQ: AXDX) saw two of its directors make a large stock purchases last week. Jack Schuler bought a total of 339,369 shares at a price of $19.00 apiece. The total for the buy was posted at $6.447.992. John Patience also bought 52,700 shares at the same share price. That cost him $1,001,300.

Shares of this in vitro diagnostics company closed trading on Friday at $22.65, so the purchased seems well timed. The 52-week range is $10.29 to $28.50, and the consensus price target is $30.

The Baker Brothers biotech hedge fund bought a block of 398,062 shares of Aquinox Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AQXP) last week. At a per-share price of $17.18, the total for the trade came to $6,836,813.

This clinical-stage pharmaceutical company primarily focuses on anti-inflammatory product candidates targeting SH2-containing inositol-5′-phosphatase 1 (SHIP1) enzyme, a key regulator of a cellular signaling pathway in immune cells. Its lead product candidate is AQX-1125, a small molecule activator of SHIP1 that is in Phase 2 clinical trials for treatment in interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome, a chronic inflammatory disease of the bladder.

Aquinox shares closed Friday at $17.92, in a 52-week trading range of $6.01 to $19.12. The consensus price target is $21.60.

Loxo Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ: LOXO) had an institutional buyer on the desk last week, Aisling Capital III bought a block of 160,000 shares at a price of $31.00. The total for the trade was posted at $4,960,000.

The company’s lead product candidate, LOXO-101, is an oral and selective inhibitor of tropomyosin receptor kinase that is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of patients with tumor types, such as lung, head and neck, melanoma, colorectal, sarcoma and breast cancer.

Shares of Loxo Oncology closed Friday at $38.16. The consensus price target is $51. The 52-week range is $16.36 to $39.56.

Also last week, the chairman of Daxor Corp. (NYSEMKT: DXR), Joseph Feldschuh, who is also the chief medical officer, bought a block of 172,000 shares of the stock at $8.50 per share. The listed total for the purchase was $1,462,000.

Daxor is a medical device company that provides biotechnology and cryobanking services in the United States. Its stock closed Friday at $8.41, in a 52-week trading range $7.00 to $9.80. The consensus price target (from just one analyst) is a stunning $30.

These companies also reported insider buying last week: Kindred Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: KIN), NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI), Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE: OZM), Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) and Tecogen Inc. (NASDAQ: TGEN).

Furthermore, insider selling was strong last week and included Facebook, Adobe Systems and Autodesk.

The song remains the same this week, and it could very well be slow going next week as well. With the market still trading near record highs, and the inauguration right around the corner, we could start to see some added volatility, so insider transactions could prove to be interesting going forward.