Investors often follow insider buying and selling from CEOs, management and key corporate insiders. There are many reasons that insiders want to or need to sell their company’s stock, so not every sale is a flag of worry. Still, investors do often evaluate large sales and look at the logic behind each one.
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Some reasons may be planned share sales on file with the SEC, options exercised, estate planning, tax purposes, buying homes and many more reasons that would not be reasons to panic. These are the top insider sales we tracked this past week.
Demandware Inc. (NYSE: DWRE) had a big seller in General Catalyst Partners, who parted with 201,859 shares between $61.39 and $64.85 for a total of $12.5 million. The shares traded Friday at $67.79.
Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) had a director move to the sell window with a big trade, selling 250,000 shares at $41.05 to $41.69. That sale netted a cool $10.3 million. Gap shares were trading Friday afternoon at $41.58.
Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC) has been on fire, so maybe it is no surprise that the COO and a senior vice president sold a total of 31,186 shares between $86.92 and $87.95. That netted $2.8 million. Range Resources shares were at $87.44 Friday afternoon.
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD) is another energy name that has been an absolutely stunning performer over the past year. The company’s CFO sold 8,254 shares between $227 and $228 for a total take home of $2 million. Pioneer was trading at $230.00 Friday.
Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. (NYSE: SNI) saw its CFO hit the bid on 24,247 shares of stock at prices ranging between $79.13 and $79.48, for a total of $2 million. The shares were trading Friday at $81.34.
While insider selling often suggests an executive could be diversifying or making a valuation call, solid insider buying, especially by CEOs, tells investors that the company may really be headed in the right direction. It can also indicate that the market has mispriced the stock for some reason, and insider is taking advantage of the anomaly.
ALSO READ: Top Insider Buying Seen This Past Week
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