Just over a year ago Hurricane Maria devastated the northern Caribbean, causing catastrophic damage and loss of life across the region and particularly in Puerto Rico. For Liberty Latin America (Nasdaq:LILA), a leading provider of cable, internet and telephone services in Puerto Rico and nearby islands, it’s taken a long time to restore service, and the company’s operations and stock price have suffered.
It’s always good to see insiders buy a stock into price weakness -- it suggests the selloff is a buying opportunity, rather than a sign of more weakness to come. In the case of Apple Hospitality (NYSE: APLE), insider buying indicates executives who know the REIT best believe it’s oversold.
Newell Brands (NWL) stock tumbled 22% over three days, but a long-time lieutenant of activist investor Carl Icahn was buying, picking up $1 million worth on August 8 at $20.50. In total, 3 directors of NWL bought $1.7 million of stock into the downdraft. The purchases were disclosed in Form 4 filings submitted today.
Shareholders of Basic Energy Services (BAS) recently saw that stock’s price cut by a third over two days. However, three company insiders viewed the drop as a buying opportunity, significantly increasing personal holdings via open market purchases.
The Chairman, President and CEO of First Horizon Corp. (NYSE:FHN) bought $444K of his own stock on the open market two weeks after telling Jim Cramer on CNBC’s Mad Money that FHN stock was “on sale.” In a Form 4 filing yesterday, Bryan D. Jordan disclosed he bought 25,000 shares of First Horizon stock at an average price of $17.76 on July 31.
On June 13, 2018, Elon Musk reported buying 72,500 shares of Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) at an average price of about $344, spending nearly $25 million. Tesla stock rallied about 7.5% over the next three days. But the big purchase by Musk begs the question: Is it usually profitable to follow famous CEOs into their own stocks when they buy shares?
Hornbeck industries (NYSE: HOS) stock has been on a tear since July 3 when a group of insiders disclosed acquiring a total of 24,550 shares at $4.00. HOS closed at $5.21 on June 29.
Two long-time directors of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) disclosed purchases of the pharmaceutical company’s stock as it pulled back 25% from all-time highs reached earlier this year. 
By Mark W. Gaffney For WhaleWisdom.com “Don’t tell me what you think, just tell me what’s in your portfolio.” Nassim Taleb in Skin in the Game In his most recent book Skin in the Game, Nassim Taleb asserts that if you offer an opinion, and someone follows it, you are morally obligated to...