Trimming Our Trades To Make Room for Better Insider Buys
Welcome back to another Insider Edge Weekly Update. Each and every Tuesday, we will be providing an update on the stocks that are being bought and owned by company insiders that are set up for big gains over the coming days and weeks.
But before we get going on our current Insider Edge stocks, I need to recap the necessary exits that were made yesterday, Dec. 6.
The stock market has become very volatile over the past days. We’ve had plenty of concerns over inflation and Federal Reserve monetary policy and action changes.
Then came the Omicron variant of the virus, spooking growth expectations for the US and global economy and taking down stocks along the way.
On Friday, we’ll get more information on US inflation with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that for now is likely to show headline inflation near or above 7% on a year over year basis.
Next week, we have the year’s last regular meeting of the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) on Tuesday and Wednesday. This will be followed up with the statement of policy as well as the press conference by Chair Jay Powell.
So, inflation and money policy are in flux… not the greatest setup for the stock market.
Meanwhile, on a positive note, the Omicron variant continues to be better understood. And in turn, it appears to be less threatening than the existing Delta variant, leading to some renewed enthusiasm by stock traders.
So, over the coming days, look for a push-pull in the stock market as traders go from bullish to bearish and perhaps back to bullish, keeping volatility and uncertainty coming for a while.
This Week’s Sells
Even the best companies and stocks can get pulled down on any given day or week by a volatile market. This is why we use stops for our stocks to limit losses to be able to remain in safety mode during times of duress.
This has meant some losses as well as a further gain this week from our company insider stocks.
We issued our sells for PROG Holdings (PRG), Ball Corporation (BLL), Mandiant (MNDT), Innovative Food Holdings (IVFH) and Calithera Biosciences (CALA) all for controlled losses.
We also issued a sell to take profits on the second half of the position in Sensient Technologies (SXT).
But, while the market actions have led to controlled losses as well as taking further gains in some of our stocks, we still have some great company insider-buying stocks in play for this week.
And with the market action, I’m analyzing additional stocks with company insiders taking advantage of the down days to buy more shares setting up new trades for us at Insider Edge.
Now, if you ever wonder how I track down company insider buys and the stocks to buy, watch my on-demand instructional video session on the Insider Edge website right here.
Insider Round-Up
Here is the current collection of buys for Insider Edge. For the full rundown on these and the rest of the trades, check out our Write-Ups here and our Trade Alerts Tracker here.
Victory Capital Holdings, Inc.
Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. (VCTR) is an investment management firm based in San Antonio, Texas. The company offers more than 60 mutual funds across various asset classes, representing $162 billion in assets under management.
After a decade-long bull market, asset managers are raking in record profits. VCTR stock is up 40% year to date, outperforming the S&P 500 index by a nice margin.
As we know, insiders have an impeccable track record of buying lows before large moves higher. But the Victory Capital insiders are seasoned investment professionals, which could prove them to be even better market timers.
Three insiders just made large buys of VCTR stock. The Chairman and CEO, President/CFO and a board member just invested a combined $1.77 million. These are the first purchases by anyone at the company in over a year.
The last time insiders at Victory bought the stock was right after the 2020 COVID lows. They are currently up between 120% and 151%. Additionally, these trades are of even larger size than the well-timed purchases made last Summer.
Chief Executive Officer David Brown is buying for the first time since 2018. Director Richard DeMartini and CFO Michael Policarpo are both first-time buyers.
Two weeks ago, VCTR stock took a dive following the announcement of a secondary stock offering. Secondary offerings dilute current shareholders, so these are sometimes viewed negatively by the market.
The offering raised $136 million, which combined with a $505 million term loan will be used to fund its acquisition of WestEnd Advisors.
Regardless of the market’s reaction to these developments, insiders are clearly bullish on Victory Capital’s future. They are using the opportunity to buy the dip and take a position at today’s discounted prices.
Victory Capital Price — Source: Dow Jones
The trade was initiated at $34.54, and with the current price at $35.47, we have a modest gain so far from the trade amounting to 2.69%.
Per the Trade Tracker, VCTR is a buy with an end-of-day closing stop at $31.00.
Evergy, Inc.
Evergy, Inc. (EVRG) is the Kansas City, Missouri-based power utility that has been increasing its green and renewable energy portfolio, particularly with wind turbines that capitalize on midwestern wind flows for more power.
Recently, several top insiders began buying large chunks of the stock in their personal accounts. Combined, they have invested more than $12 million in the stock.
The CEO and CFO seem to buy in tandem. They are both buying shares for only the second time. Their first purchases came this March when they bought the stock right off its low before a 30% advance higher.
Director John Wilder started buying a month later, and he has made four additional buys over the last few weeks.
EVRG stock does not see routine insider buying, making the recent cluster buy even more significant. I suggest following the lead of those on the inside and taking a position in Evergy.
Evergy Price — Source: Dow Jones
The trade was initiated at $63.56, and with the current price at $66.98, we have a gain so far from the trade amounting to 5.38%.
Per the Trade Tracker, EVRG remains a buy with an end-of-day closing stop at $57.00.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back in touch next Tuesday with another Weekly Update.
Best wishes for your trading,
Ross Givens
Editor, Insider Edge
P.S. To see exactly how I use my proprietary “Profit Trigger System” to detect
rare price anomalies in a stock’s price BEFORE it skyrockets higher, click here to register for my free “Rapid Fortune Summit” on Wednesday, December 8th at 12:00 PM.
