Bargain hunters are wise to pay careful attention to insider buying, because although there are many various reasons for an insider to sell a stock, presumably the only reason they would use their hard-earned cash to make a purchase, is that they expect to make money. Today we look at two noteworthy recent insider buys.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn gets his wish. After weeks of discussion and a letter from Icahn, Chesapeake Energy’s (NYSE:CHK) board of directors has decided to replace four of its members.Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management, the two largest stakeholders in Chesapeake, were putting pressure on the company to make some personnel changes. The pressure began in April when Reuters reported Chesapeake’s Chairman of the Board Aubrey McClendon had taken out more than $1 billion in loans using his personal stakes in thousands of company wells as collateral.McClendon recently agreed to step down as chairman and will be replaced as well. Southeastern Asset Management will get to pick three of the new board members while Carl Icahn and his affiliates will pick the fourth.Investors see this move as a good thing for the energy company. Shares of Chesapeake Energy are currently up over a half a percent to $15.67.
The Daily Ticker’s Aaron Task and Henry Blodget interview Todd Harrison about falling oil prices
In trading on Tuesday, general contractors & builders shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 3.9%. Leading the group were shares of M/I Homes (MHO), up about 7.5% and shares of Pultegroup (PHM) up about 5.3% on the day.
With E3 starting this week, investors with stakes in the video game industry will be watching to see the new and exciting announcements that could make or break the struggling companies within the sector.Let’s take a look at where some of the biggest players are right now.First up, is Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA). One of the biggest video game publishers announced its new lineup of games including titles like the highly successful Madden NFL franchise and their online multiplayer game Star Wars: The Old Republic. One that is in the news right now however is Battledfield 3. This first-person-shooter will soon have a $50-per year service for players to unlock extra online features and content. This is similar to Activision’s Call of Duty Elite Premium service. EA has not been doing well this past year though. The company is down 35%, and is currently trading over 1% lower today at $12.94.Next is EA’s big competitor Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI). The company behind the Call of Duty franchise and the newly released Diablo III has had some negative press recently. A civil lawsuit hit the news with game maker Infinity Ward suing Activision for wrongful dismissal after the company fired them in March 2010. Infinity Ward claimed the video game publisher fired them to avoid paying more than $36 million in bonuses. Both parties settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.Activision Blizzard has not taken much of a hit this past year though, its stock down just 5%. Currently, the company is trading relatively flat, the stock up fractionally to $11.65. Finally, Take Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO) one of the smaller publishers has an exciting lineup for this year and the future. The company is well known for its titles from Rockstar Games and 2K Studios. Some of the new games include BioShock Infinite and Grand Theft Auto V, the long anticipated sequel to the franchise. Currently in the news, the company will begin bringing its Max Payne 3 game to the PC and has suffered major criticism over delaying its new BioShock game till February.For the year, the company is seeing double digit declines and currently is falling in trading today. Take Two Interactive is down over 2% to $10.80.That’s it for the Video Game Sector Report. For more industry news and financial analysis, keep it right here to the Financial News Network.
Dollar General (DG) announced that it earned $213.4 million, or 63 cents per share, for its most recent fiscal quarter, up from $157 million, or 45 cents per share, in the same period last year. Revenue rose by 13 percent to $3.9 billion.
Buckeye Technologies (BKI) was upgraded today by UBS (UBS) from neutral to buy with a price target of $36, as the firm believes that the stock has been oversold, though risks still exist. Shares are higher by about 1.1 percent.
As the saying goes, there are many possible reasons for an insider to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy — they expect to make money. So let’s look at two noteworthy recent insider buys.
Chinese mobile direct marketing company Loyalty Alliance Enterprise Corporation (LAEC) is the only company scheduled to make a initial public offering for the week of June 4, 2012. The company plans to sell 5.1 million American Depository Shares in a range of $12 to $14 to be traded on the NASDAQ exchange.
In trading on Monday, water utilities shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.4%. Leading the group were shares of Conn Water Services (CTWS), up about 3.7% and shares of Aqua America (WTR) up about 1% on the day.
