Author: FX_Trdr

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.

Chubb (CB) was upgraded by Deutsche Bank (DB) to buy from hold with a price target of $90 as the stock is value priced relative to others in the sector. Shares are higher by about 4.2 percent.

Monsanto Company (MON) maintained its quarterly dividend of 37.5 cents per share. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share on Friday, April 26th.

Chevron Corporation (CVX) today reported earnings of $7.2 billion, or $3.70 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2012, versus $5.1 billion, or $2.58 per share in the 2011 fourth quarter. Results in the 2012 period included a gain of $1.4 billion from an upstream asset exchange.

Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG) was upgraded by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch from neutral to buy with a price target of $41, as the company is experiencing strong organic growth, and carrying a lot of momentum.

Lackluster earnings and disappointing economic data kept the markets under pressure today. The number of Americans filing initial jobless claims rose by 38,000 to a seasonally adjusted 368,000 last week, according to the Labor Department.

KaloBios Pharmaceuticals (KBIO) announced the pricing of its previously announced IPO of 8,750,000 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $8.00 per share, less underwriting discounts and commissions. KaloBios has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 1,312,500 additional shares of common stock at the same price to cover over-allotments, if any.

In trading on Thursday, sporting goods & activities shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 5.4%. Leading the group were shares of WMS Industries (WMS), up about 51.7% and shares of Vail Resorts (MTN) up about 1.6% on the day.

This morning, it was announced that Scientific Games (SGMS) would acquire WMS Industries (WMS) in a deal worth approximately $1.5 billion, or $26 per share. The acquisition was approved by both boards and will be immediately accretive to earnings.

Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW) seeing lower than expected earnings this morning. The company posted EPS of 33 cents, just missing estimates of 34 cents a share. Revenue for the quarter fell one percent to $13.92 billion, higher than the $13.69 billion Wall Str