Massive Icahn Trades Highlight Huge Insider Buying: Hertz Global, Herbalife, CBRE, Seattle Genetics and More

[cnxvideo id=”625451″ placement=”ros”]All you can say is wow, and thank goodness it’s over. In a week in which the markets had their biggest weekly gain since October of 2014, the incredible election cycle finally came to a dramatic conclusion with Donald Trump winning the White House and Republicans holding both the House and the Senate. Insider buying was dramatically larger than we have seen in months, and it could continue the rest of the year.

We cover insider buying each week at 24/7 Wall St., and we like to remind readers that while insider buying is usually a very positive sign, it is not in itself a reason to run out and buy a stock. Sometimes insiders and 10% owners have stock purchase plans set up at intervals to add to their holdings. That aside, it still remains an overall positive indicator.

Here are some of the companies that reported notable insider buying last week.

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) has been a roller-coaster ride over the past year, and shareholders may be pleased to know that Wall Street legend and renowned investor Carl Icahn, who is also a 10% owner of the company, bought shares again in a big way last week. Icahn bought a total of 15,080,442 shares at a price of $23.43. The total for the buy was posted at a staggering $350 million. Hertz traded on Friday at $28.65, so the timing looks very solid.

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Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) also had the Wall Street legend piling into more shares. Icahn, a 10% owner, raised the stakes in his battle with Bill Ackman over the direct marketing company and purchased an additional 1,056,069 shares at prices that ranged from $54.89 to $55.27. The total for the trade came in at a gigantic $58 million. Shares of the company traded on Friday at $52.90.

CBRE Group Inc. (NYSE: CBG) had a top hedge fund step in again last week and buy a huge block of shares. Value Act bought a total of 1,200,000 shares at between $26.85 and $27.15. That cost the fund a gigantic $32 million. The company operates as a commercial real estate services and investment company worldwide, and its shares traded on Friday at $27.80.

Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN) had one of the biggest bio pharmaceutical funds buying even more shares of the stock this past week. The Baker Brothers, a 10% owner, bought a total of 382,500 shares at between $58.74 and $59.46 apiece. The total for that buy was $23 million. The fund may be continuing to top off the tanks as it bought a gigantic number of shares of the biotechnology company last spring. The stock traded Friday at $67.75, so the timing looks outstanding.

Gogo Inc. (NASDAQ: GOGO) had a director purchasing a total of 300,000 shares at $9.69 per share. The total for the purchase was posted at $3 million. Gogo provides communications services to the commercial and business aviation markets in the United States and internationally. Its stock was trading on Friday at $8.85.

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These companies also reported insider buying last week: Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA), CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL), General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), Medley Capital Corp. (NYSE: MCC) and West Corp. (NASDAQ: WSTC).

The rally was a huge surprise for everybody, as almost every strategist and trader on Wall Street predicted a big sell-off in the event of a Trump victory. While things cooled off Friday, and could remain volatile going forward, the somewhat positive view of the election outcome is heartening for investors.