24/7 Wall St. Insights

• The owner of the Dallas Cowboys and Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim both continued to boost stakes last week.
• Insiders made notable purchases of energy and tech stocks and more in that time.
• Also: 2 Dividend Legends to Hold Forever.

Summer is winding down and market volatility remains a concern due to recession fears, geopolitical issues, and a contentious presidential election, among other things. Yet, insider buying remained fairly active in the past week. Some were repeat purchasers, including the owner of the Dallas Cowboys and Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. Other purchases were in companies under pressure. Let’s take a quick look at these transactions.

Is Insider Buying Important?

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 even with earnings-reporting season winding down, some insiders are prohibited from buying or selling shares. Below are some of the more notable insider purchases that were reported in the past week, starting with the largest and most prominent.

Comstock Resources

• Buyer(s): 10% owner Arkoma Drilling
• Total shares: over 1.7 million
• Price per share: $11.16 to $11.55
• Total cost: nearly $19.4 million

This beneficial owner is affiliated with beneficial owner Blue Star Exploration, which acquired almost 2.5 million shares of Comstock Resources Inc. (NYSE: CRK) earlier this month. Arkoma also scooped up 3.1 million shares last week. Both Arkoma and Blue Star are owned by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. The Texas-based leading producer of natural gas posted disappointing quarterly results at the end of July. Shares pulled back almost 20% after the earnings report but have recovered. They are now 16% or so higher year to date but trading below the buyer’s latest purchase price range. The share price is still higher than the $10.09 consensus price target. Just three of the eight analysts who follow the stock recommend buying shares.

VOXX

• Buyer(s): 10% owner Gentex
• Total shares: 3.5 million
• Price per share: $5.07
• Total cost: more than $17.7 million

Orlando-based consumer and automotive electronics maker VOXX International Corp. (NASDAQ: VOXX) says it is exploring strategic alternatives, including potential sale of the company. Shares surged on the news but are still almost 40% lower than six months ago. The share price has more than doubled since sinking to a multiyear low of $2.27 a few weeks ago. Note that Gentex is also an automotive technologies company and a potential buyer of the company. With this transaction, it doubled its stake to almost 6.5 million shares. Also note that the seller of these shares was one of VOXX’s vice-chairs of the board of directors.

PBF Energy

• Buyer(s): 10% owner Control Empresarial de Capitales
• Total shares: 267,000
• Price per share: $33.18 to $32.78
• Total cost: almost $8.8 million

This Carlos Slim-controlled investment firm has been scooping up shares of refiner PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE: PBF) since early June and now has a stake of more than 18.6 million shares. The New Jersey-based company recently posted mixed quarterly results, due in part to lower refining margins. The stock has been in retreat since early April and is now changing hands near a 52-week low and below the buyer’s latest purchase price range. Analysts have a mean price target of $44.70, which would be a gain of about 39% from the current share price. Yet, only six of the 17 analysts who follow the stock recommend acquiring shares. Note that the same owner also recently acquired shares of Talos Energy Inc. (NYSE: TALO).

Appian

• Buyer(s): 10% owner Abdiel Capital
• Total shares: almost 183,300
• Price per share: $30.54 to $32.50
• Total cost: more than $5.7 million

After picking up more than $2 million worth of shares recently, this hedge fund manager returned to further boost its stake in Appian Corp. (NASDAQ: APPN) to nearly 9.9 million shares. The AI-enabled business process automation provider posted better-than-expected second-quarter sales but also a net loss. More recently, it announced plans to expand its footprint in Japan. Shares plunged after the report and are down more than 5% from six months ago but just above the buyer’s latest purchase price range. The stock has a Hold recommendation from the consensus of analysts. Their mean price target has dropped to $34.50.

Bill

• Buyer(s): CEO Rene Lacerte and others
• Total shares: more than 88,300
• Price per share: $27.00
• Total cost: almost $4.5 million

Underwhelming guidance initially offset strong second-quarter results at Bill Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BILL), but shares rose afterward. The San Jose, California-based financial operations platform provider named its first chief customer officer earlier this summer. The stock is up about 9% from 90 days ago but down more than 31% year to date. However, analysts on average expect the shares to rise over 23% in the next 12 months to their $67.77 consensus price target. Note that Lacerte’s purchase cost him almost $2.1 million and his stake is up to more than 184,200 shares.

Standard BioTools

• Buyer(s): 10% owner Casdin Partners Master Fund
• Total shares: 1 million
• Price per share: $1.94 to $2.20
• Total cost: almost $2.1 million

Standard BioTools Inc. (NASDAQ: LAB) announced a restructuring plan back in the spring that included staff reductions. When it posted second-quarter results, the biotechnology tools and services provider also announced senior leadership changes. The share price pulled back more than 30% after the report but has mostly recovered. The stock is 3% or so lower than at the beginning of the year. The $3.17 consensus price target signals almost 52% upside potential in the coming year. All three analysts who cover the stock recommend buying shares.

And Other Insider Buying

In the past week, some insider buying was reported at Aon, Eaton, Elanco Animal Health, El Pollo Loco, Energy Transfer, Enterprise Products Partners, Franklin Resources, Herbalife, Insulet, Lancaster Colony, Mercury Systems, Peloton Interactive, UBS, and Weyerhaeuser.

Prediction: This Well-Known Brand Stock Will Be the Best Performer for the Rest of 2024

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