Investing

More Big Warren Buffett Purchases Highlight Recent Insider Buying

Trey Thoelcke

Published: January 20, 2024 10:49 am

The number of notable insider purchases in mid-January may have been somewhat small, but a couple from the Oracle of Omaha made headlines. Plus, insiders at three healthcare-related firms and a refiner scooped up some shares during the holiday-shortened week as well.

A well-known adage reminds us that corporate insiders and 10% owners really only buy shares of a company because they believe the stock price will rise and they want to profit from it. Thus, insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors. This is all the more so during times of uncertainty in the markets, and even when markets are near all-time highs.

Remember that with a new earnings-reporting season underway, many insiders are prohibited from buying or selling shares. Below are some of the more notable insider purchases that were reported in the past week.

Solid Biosciences on the Fast Track

• Buyer(s): two directors
• Total shares: more than 4.3 million
• Price per share: $10
• Total cost: almost $15.7 million

Solid Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: SLDB) recently saw its Duchenne muscular dystrophy treatment fast-tracked by the FDA. Shares of this Massachusetts-based company are up 273% or so since early November but were last seen trading below $8 a share, less than the purchase price above. Three out of five analysts recommend buying shares. However, their current consensus price target of $7.75 is also less than the purchase price and suggests only about 3% further upside.

Liberty Media, a Sirius XM Tracking Stock

• Buyer(s): 10% owner Berkshire Hathaway
• Total shares: nearly 1.6 million
• Price per share: $30.03 to $30.50
• Total cost: more than $48.3 million

Berkshire Hathaway has increased its stake in Liberty Media Corp. (NASDAQ: LSXMK) to almost 46.5 million. And shares of this holding company were last seen trading above the purchase price range at more than $31. However, the stock is still about 23% lower than a year ago. Note that Liberty Media and Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) plan to merge, and Liberty Media recently completed an acquisition of its own.

Back to the Buy Window for Opko Health

• Buyer(s): CEO Phillip Frost and another executive
• Total shares: more than 1.5 million
• Price per share: $0.93 to $0.99
• Total cost: almost $1.5 million

The stock is down almost 27% since Opko Health Inc. (NASDAQ: OPK) posted mixed quarterly results back in November. The shares were last seen trading within the purchase price range above. Note that Frost is a serial buyer of Opko shares. So far this month, he has scooped up more than 3.4 million shares, and his stake of more than 205 million shares makes him a 10% owner. Analysts see some room for the stock to run, given their consensus price target of $4.33. Their consensus recommendation is to buy shares.

Marpai CEO Steps Up

• Buyer(s): CEO Damien Lamendola and two other directors
• Total shares: over 1.3 million
• Price per share: about $0.92
• Total cost: more than $1.2 million

Marpai Inc. (NASDAQ: MRAI) is a health plan services provider that appointed two new directors in December and named its new president more recently. The stock popped more than 13% in the past week to $1.15 per share, but it is still down over 34% year to date. Shares have traded in a wide range of $0.33 to $13.60 in the past year, and note that the stock was almost delisted from the Nasdaq late last year. (Here are 17 things you didn’t know your pharmacist could do.)

PBF Energy a Top Pick?

• Buyer(s): 10% owner Control Empresarial de Capitales
• Total shares: more than 1.2 million
• Price per share: $41.94 to $44.00
• Total cost: over $53.7 million

New Jersey-based petroleum refiner PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE: PBF) posted better-than-expected earnings but declining revenues in its most recent quarterly report. Shares are down more than 11% since then and were last seen still trading within the buyer’s purchase price range. The buyer’s stake is up to over 13.8 million shares. Renowned investor Louis Navellier includes PBF among the top picks with huge upside potential. The $49.45 consensus price target indicates that analysts overall see more than 18% upside in the next 12 months.

And More Liberty Media Shares

• Buyer(s): 10% owner Berkshire Hathaway
• Total shares: around 1.2 million
• Price per share: $30.17 to $30.50
• Total cost: around $366 million

Buffett also has increased the stake in Liberty Media Corp. (NASDAQ: LSXMA) to around 22.5 million. Shares of this holding company were last seen trading above the purchase price range as well, at around $31 apiece. The stock gained about 22% in the past 90 days. As mentioned above, Liberty Media and Sirius XM are in the process of merging, and Liberty Media completed an acquisition earlier this month.

And Other Insider Buying