Insider Buying Heats Up in Spite of Big Market Rally

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By Lee Jackson Published Nov 22, 2014 at 9:05 AM EST

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As was noted in last week’s report, insider buying had slowed dramatically due to the big rally in the markets. Well, despite continued trading to the upside, and new highs on all the indexes, the buyers returned this week, and returned in force. This kind of insider purchasing into the teeth of what has emerged as a solid secular bull market is very encouraging for equity investors of all stripes.

We cover insider trading every week at 24/7 Wall St., and it makes sense to always check our reports to see if any of the stocks you own are hitting our screens. Insider activity can often be a leading indicator for a company.

Here is this past week’s list of insider buying.

Aon PLC (NYSE: AON) saw a director step up to the plate for a large serving of stock. Lester Knight bought 60,000 shares of the stock at $90.40. The total purchase came to $5.4 million. The company provides risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human resource consulting and outsourcing services worldwide. Shares closed trading Friday at $91.39, so perhaps a timely trade.

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Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX) is a very volatile tech stock that saw a nice purchase last week. A director at the company bought 58,480 shares at $42.80. The total for the buy came to $2.5 million. This is notable for investors as the stock is making 52-week highs. The director’s timing was good as Rackspace was trading at $44.92 as of Friday’s close.

Mack-Cali Realty Corp. (NYSE: CLI) is a top office real estate investment trust (REIT) that saw a big insider trade this week. A director of the company bought a block of 187,400 shares of the stock at $19.20. The total purchase came to $3.6 million. Shares were trading Friday right in line with the buy, closing at $19.22.

C&J Energy Services Inc. (NYSE: CJES) is one of the many battered oil services stocks. Investors will be pleased to know that a 10% owner of the company, General Atlantic, added to its holdings this week by purchasing 164,539 shares at $18.50. The total buy came to $3 million. Shares ended the week at $18.80.

Platform Specialty Products Corp. (NYSE: PAH) investors will be glad to know that a director of the company added to his holdings this week. The director bought 47,601 shares of the stock at $26, for a total purchase of $1.2 million. The company had a secondary offering earlier in the month at $24.50, so this is a bullish sign for shareholders. The stock was trading Friday at $26.01.

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These companies also saw significant insider buying this week: Silver Bay Realty Trust Corp. (NYSE: SBY), Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD), STAAR Surgical Co. (NASDAQ: STAA), Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC) and Papa Murphy’s Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: FRSH).