Amkor’s CEO sold millions of dollars of his company’s stock over the last few years – now he’s buying AMKR 50% lower

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When Steve Kelley was named CEO of Amkor Technology (AMKR) in May of 2013, AMKR was around $4.50. As an incentive, the company granted him 750,000 shares in stock and options at the equivalent of $4.50. After the grant fully vested, SEC filings indicate the CEO sold most all of the granted stock and options between Nov. of 2016 and June of 2017 at an average price of $11.38 for total proceeds of $8.9 million.

AMKR closed Wednesday at $6.53.

So, since his employment began with Amkor, Kelley did not buy any AMKR on the open market. His only actions were disposing of shares granted to him as compensation. His timing was good.

But over the last few days Kelley reversed his selling and bought 150,000 of AMKR at an average price of $6.33. Not only is the buy large in dollar terms – 1.18x his annual salary – but it also increased his holdings in his company’s stock by 89%.

I’ll also note that a Feb. 2017 grant – this time of 200,000 shares and 450,000 options – converts at $9.86. With the stock now some 33% below that level, the CEO has lots of incentive to get the share price up.

Stephen Douglas Kelley Form 4 Filings – Amkor Technology Inc.

Filing Date

Company

Ticker

Transaction

Trade Date

Shares

Avg. Price

$ Total

12-Dec-2018

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Market Purchase

11-Dec-2018

50,000

6.32

316,000

12-Dec-2018

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Market Purchase

10-Dec-2018

100,000

6.33

633,000

27-Nov-2018

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

27-Nov-2018

5,425

6.61

35,859

27-Aug-2018

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

27-Aug-2018

5,425

8.78

47,632

29-May-2018

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

27-May-2018

5,425

9.18

49,802

27-Feb-2018

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

27-Feb-2018

5,425

10.2

55,335

28-Nov-2017

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

27-Nov-2017

5,750

11.39

65,493

28-Aug-2017

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

27-Aug-2017

5,750

8.54

49,105

12-Jun-2017

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Private Sale

09-Jun-2017

32,924

12.06

397,063

12-Jun-2017

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Option Exercise

08-Jun-2017

75,586

4.5

340,137

12-Jun-2017

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Private Option Sale

08-Jun-2017

75,586

12.13

916,858

30-May-2017

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

27-May-2017

5,750

11.74

67,505

08-May-2017

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

08-May-2017

21,563

11.73

252,934

01-Mar-2017

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Grant

27-Feb-2017

200,000

9.86

1,972,000

09-Feb-2017

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

08-Feb-2017

21,754

9.66

210,144

23-Nov-2016

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Market Sale

22-Nov-2016

85,214

12.22

1,041,320

18-Nov-2016

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Market Sale

17-Nov-2016

9,843

11.82

116,344

18-Nov-2016

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Option Exercise

17-Nov-2016

9,843

4.5

44,294

16-Nov-2016

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Market Sale

15-Nov-2016

100,000

11.3

1,130,000

15-Nov-2016

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Market Sale

14-Nov-2016

43,000

11.53

495,790

15-Nov-2016

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Market Option Sale

11-Nov-2016

103,828

11.41

1,184,680

15-Nov-2016

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Option Exercise

11-Nov-2016

103,828

4.5

467,226

10-Nov-2016

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Option Exercise

09-Nov-2016

100,000

4.5

450,000

10-Nov-2016

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Market Option Sale

09-Nov-2016

100,000

11.02

1,102,000

08-Nov-2016

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

08-Nov-2016

21,563

11.24

242,368

08-Nov-2016

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Option Exercise

07-Nov-2016

100,000

4.5

450,000

08-Nov-2016

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Market Option Sale

07-Nov-2016

100,000

10.89

1,089,000

08-Nov-2016

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Option Exercise

04-Nov-2016

100,000

4.5

450,000

08-Nov-2016

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Market Option Sale

04-Nov-2016

100,000

10.45

1,045,000

09-Aug-2016

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

08-Aug-2016

21,563

8.24

177,679

10-May-2016

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

08-May-2016

15,633

5.64

88,170

09-Feb-2016

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

08-Feb-2016

15,880

5.31

84,323

09-Nov-2015

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

08-Nov-2015

22,477

6.67

149,922

10-Aug-2015

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

08-Aug-2015

22,477

4.21

94,628

08-May-2015

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

08-May-2015

22,477

7.02

157,789

09-Feb-2015

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

08-Feb-2015

15,816

7.1

112,294

10-Nov-2014

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

08-Nov-2014

22,477

6.39

143,628

11-Aug-2014

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

08-Aug-2014

22,477

8.94

200,944

08-May-2014

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Payment of Exercise

08-May-2014

84,266

8.84

744,911

25-Feb-2014

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Market Purchase

26-Nov-2013

3,000

5.93

17,784

08-May-2013

Amkor Technology Inc.

AMKR

Grant

08-May-2013

750,000

0

Source: WhaleWisdom.com

As I’ve written about previously, semiconductor stocks have been brutalized in the selloff, and Amkor is no exception. AMKR hit a 52-week low of $5.72 on Oct. 24, down 44% from its March high.

Amkor Technology, Inc. is one of the world’s largest providers of outsourced semiconductor packaging and test services. The Company offers deep submicron wafer fabrication, wafer probe testing, integrated circuit packaging assembly and design, final testing, reliability testing, burn-in, and electrical characterization.

For Q3 of 2018, AMKR’s earned 24 cents per share, surpassing consensus estimates. Revenues of $1.14 billion increased 7.3% sequentially but decreased 0.4% year over year. After the Oct. 28 report the company received several analyst downgrades.

Commenting on Q3, CEO Kelley said: “Although we recognize that smartphone unit growth is moderating, we still see a lot of incremental opportunity for Amkor in this very large market. Three content related trends are driving increased opportunities. First, new features which require additional IC’; second, increasing package level integration throughout the phone; and third, the accelerating migration of features from the high end into mid-range phones.”

Should trade war fears ease, Amkor may see a significant bounce. Judging by his recent insider buying, Steve Kelly believes his stock’s recent weakness is overdone and the shares represent a good value. Sell high and buy low.

Disclaimer: Do not construe anything written in this post or this blog in its entirety as a recommendation, research, or an offer to buy or sell any securities. Everything in this post is meant for educational and entertainment purposes only. I or my affiliates may hold positions in securities mentioned in the article.