Expensive Insider Buys Reported from Four CEOs

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May 20, 2013
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It is interesting to watch insider buys from top executives like CEOs and CFOs because they are savvy buyers of their companies' shares. One long-term study showed that they beat the market on average by six percentage points a year. Over 20 years that's the difference between turning $10,000 into $67,000 and turning it into $194,000.





In the past week, four companies reported insider buys coming from their CEOs valued at over $100,000. These buys all came from small- to mid-capped stocks in various sectors of the market.


1. MoSys (MOSY)


President and CEO of MoSys, Leonard Perham, made the largest buy of the week on May 17. The CEO added 250,000 shares at $4 per share. The total cost of this buy was $1 million. Perham now holds on to 1,391,140 shares. Since his buy the price per share is up 5.5%. This buy also represented the first insider transaction for MoSys since May 2012.





MoSys is an IP-rich fabless semiconductor company that provides high performance solutions for fast, intelligent data access in network and communications systems.


The analysis on MoSys reports that the company currently has no debt but that the per share revenue has been in decline for the past five years.


MoSys has a market cap of $169.4 million; its shares were traded at around $4.22 with a P/E ratio of 17.70 and a P/S ratio of 30.10. The company recently priced an underwritten public offering of 6.5 million shares of its common stock at a price of $4.00 per share. The company expects to receive net proceeds of approximately $24.2 million.


Chuck Royce holds on to 442,275 shares of MoSys.


With its shares up 0.72%, MoSys trades at $4.22.


2. INVESCO Mortgage Capital (IVR)


INVESCO Mortgage reported their CEO making a large buy on May 16. CEO and President Richard King bought 10,000 shares at an average price of $19.92 per share. The total transaction amount for this buy was $199,200. He now holds on to at least 5,045 shares of INVESCO. Since his buy the price has increased 2.31%.




INVESCO Mortgage is a REIT that acquires, finances and manages residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities and mortgage loans. The company reports that their objective is to “provide attractive risk-adjusted returns to shareholders, primarily through dividends and secondarily through capital appreciation.”


The analysis on INVESCO reports that the P/S ratio is close to a three-year high of 6.88 and that the company has no debt. INVESCO’s revenue has been in decline for the past three years, as has its dividend. The company’s quarterly dividend dropped in the second quarter of 2011 and has sat at a stable $0.65 per share since Dec. 20, 2011.


INVESCO Mortgage Capital was formerly known as INVESCO Agency Securities. INVESCO Mortgage has a market cap of $2.73 billion; its shares were traded at around $20.34 with a P/E ratio of 7.30 and P/S ratio of 6.30. The dividend yield of INVESCO Mortgage is 12.70%.


The company’s debt makes up 0% of its assets and the total debt in relation to the equity also amounts to 0%. Twelve trailing months EPS reached a value of $2.86. During the last fiscal year the company paid $2.60 in the form of dividends to shareholders.


As of March 31, 2013, Jim Simons owns 1,022,200 shares of INVESCO Mortgage and Jeremy Grantham owns 46,898 shares.


With its shares down 0.13%, INVESCO Mortgage trades at $20.38.


3. LivePerson Inc. (LPSN)


Two insiders made buys into LivePerson on May 16. CEO Robert Locascio and Director William Wesemann both made significant buys back into the company


CEO Robert Locascio bought 35,640 shares at $8.56 per share. This cost the CEO a total of $305,078. Since his buy the price per share has increased 9.81%. Locascio now holds on to at least 4,758,603 shares.


Wesemann added 20,000 to his stake at an average price of $8.67 per share. This cost the director a total of $173,400. He now owns at least 60,000 shares of the company’s stock. Since Wesemann’s buy the price has increased 8.42%




LivePerson provides online engagement solutions that facilitate real-time assistance and expert advice. The company provides ways in which businesses and independent service providers can connect with consumers seeking help on the internet.


The GuruFocus analysis on LivePerson gives four good signs:


· The company has no debt.

· The price is near a two-year low of $8.39.

· The P/B ratio is close to a three-year low of 2.81.

· The P/S ratio is close to a three-year low of 2.93.


LivePerson has a market cap of $501 million; its shares were traded around $9.40 with a P/E ratio of 179.20 and a P/S ratio of 3.30.


Ron Baron currently owns 1,317,077 shares of LivePerson which he increased by 0.03% in the first quarter.


With its shares up 4.75%, LivePerson trades at $9.48.


4. Winmark (WNA)


Chairman and CEO John Morgan bought 2,000 shares at $60.89 per share this past week. This buy cost Morgan $121,780. Since this buy the price per share has increased 0.85%. Morgan owns 1,714,310 shares of Winmark.





Winmark is a franchisor of five retail store concepts that buy, sell, trade and consign merchandises. The five stores include: Play It Again Sports, Once Upon a Child, Plato’s Closet, Music Go Round and Style Encore. Style Encore is Winmark’s most recent concept, and the company recently announced the signing of Style Encore’s franchise agreements.


The analysis on Winmark shows that Winmark’s revenue has slowed down in the past year, the price is currently at a one-year high and that the operating margin is expanding. The dividend yield of Winmark is currently at a three-year high of $0.05 per share. The most recent dividend was declared on May 6.


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Winmark has a market cap of $306.3 million; its shares were traded at around $61.15 with a P/E ratio of 23.80 and a P/S ratio of 6.00. Winmark had an annual earnings growth of 24.5% over the past ten10 years.


Jim Simons made a new buy into Winmark during the first quarter. He holds 55,400 shares of Winmark.


With its shares down 0.07%, Winmark trades at $61.31.


You can view the complete list of insider buys here. You can also view all CEO buys and sells here.