Insider buying has slowed considerably in the past week or so, due largely to the current first-quarter earnings reporting season. Legendary investor Carl Icahn continued to build a stake in a refiner, and another beneficial owner returned to pick up some more shares in a restaurant and retail operator. Meanwhile, a couple of other insiders, including a director at a leading electric vehicle maker, bucked the selling shares in their stocks.
Let’s take a quick look at these notable transactions of the past week or so.
Is Insider Buying Important?
What does insider buying tell us?
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.
As indicated, the first-quarter earnings-reporting season is underway, and many insiders are prohibited from buying or selling shares. Below are some of the most notable insider purchases that were reported recently, starting with the largest and most prominent.
CVR Energy
- Buyer(s): 10% owner Carl Icahn
- Total shares: 200,160
- Price per share: $17.84 to $18.21
- Total cost: around $3.6 million
This renowned American financier and investor has been on a buying spree for the past month or so and now has a CVR Energy Inc. (NYSE: CVI | CVI Price Prediction) stake of around 70.4 million shares.
This Texas-based refiner just posted better-than-expected first-quarter revenue and a smaller-than-expected net loss. The stock was last seen trading for more than the purchase price range above. The stock has also overrun the consensus target price of $18.50. The high target is up at $21, but none of the analysts who cover the stock recommend buying shares.
Note that Icahn also has been building a stake in fertilizer maker CVR Partners L.P. (NYSE: UAN).
Mineralys Therapeutics
- Buyer(s): a director
- Total shares: less than 259,300
- Price per share: $13.50
- Total cost: about $3.5 million
While some officers were selling Mineralys Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: MLYS) shares in April, one director bucked the trend. Founder and beneficial owner Brian Taylor Slingsby boosted his stake to around 8.9 million shares.
Shares of clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company are trading for about 35% more than 90 days ago. That is higher than Slingsby’s purchase price. But note that the stock is down from a recent multiyear high of $18.38.
Analysts see huge potential upside in the coming year, given their $40.00 consensus target price. All of the eight analysts who cover the stock recommend buying shares. Two of them have Strong Buy ratings. H.C. Wainwright reiterated its Buy early in April.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
- Buyer(s): 10% owner GMT Capital
- Total shares: 79,500
- Price per share: $43.03 to $43.84
- Total cost: more than $3.4 million
This buyer has acquired a total of 275,500 shares in April for more than $10.8 million. Its Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL) stake is up to over 2.6 million shares. There are 22.2 million or so shares outstanding.
The stock is up about 5% since the Tennessee-based operator of restaurant and retail outlets posted better-than-expected quarterly results in early March. Shares were last seen changing hands for less than the buyer’s purchase price range.
Analysts have a consensus price target of $46.00, which indicates they see the shares rising 15% in the next 12 months. The high price target is up at $55.00. However, only two of the 10 analysts who cover the stock recommend buying shares.
Tesla
- Buyer(s): a director
- Total shares: 4,000
- Price per share: $256.26 to $256.37
- Total cost: over $1.0 million
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) officers and directors have been selling shares since last year’s presidential election. Stock began to retreat before the end of the year, but they have popped in the past week, after Elon Musk promised to return his attention to the electric vehicle he runs. One director stepped up to the buy window.
The stock is down around 31% since the beginning of the year but still 43% or so higher than a year ago. The share price is about 8.5% higher than the purchase price range above. The $289.44 consensus price target is not much higher than that. Less than half of the 48 analysts who cover the stock recommend buying shares.
Note that this same buyer recently sold almost $25 million worth of Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB) shares.
And Other Insider Buying
Some smaller insider buys at Carmax, KeyCorp, RTX, and more.
In the past week or so, some insider buying was reported at Ally Financial, Atlanta Braves, Carmax, Clear Channel Outdoor, Enphase Energy, Healthpeak Properties, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, KeyCorp, LKQ, Mastercraft Boat, Northern Trust, RTX, Signet Jewelers, and Weatherford.
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