Welcome to edition 270 of Insider Weekends. Insiders remained very active this week despite the big decline we just experienced that saw the Dow lose 1,000 points in a week. Insider buying increased last week with insiders buying $121.15 million of stock compared to $109.95 million in the week prior. Selling also increased with insiders selling $2.12 billion of stock last week compared to $999.89 million in the week prior.

Sell/Buy Ratio: The insider Sell/Buy ratio is calculated by dividing the total insider sales in a given week by total insider purchases that week. The adjusted ratio for last week went up to 17.47. In other words, insiders sold more than 17 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 9.09. We are calculating an adjusted ratio by removing transactions by funds and companies and trying as best as possible only to retain information about insiders and 10% owners who are not funds or companies.

Insider Sell Buy Ratio August 21, 2015

Note: As mentioned in the first post in this series, certain industries have their preferred metrics such as same store sales for retailers, funds from operations (FFO) for REITs and revenue per available room (RevPAR) for hotels that provide a better basis for comparison than simple valuation metrics. However metrics like Price/Earnings, Price/Sales and Enterprise Value/EBITDA included below should provide a good starting point for analyzing the majority of stocks.

Notable Insider Buys:

There were several interesting insider purchases besides the five listed below that did not make the list of the top 5 transactions. Some of those include a cluster purchase by four insiders of  car rental company Hertz Global (HTZ), additional purchases of Sears Holdings (SHLD) by 10% owner Bruce Berkowitz, purchases by the CEO and VP Sales of silicon wafer manufacturing company SunEdison Semiconductor (SEMI) and purchases by two insiders of insurance company Genworth Financial (GNW). We also excluded a $20 million purchase by Elon Musk of Tesla Motors (TSLA) because it was part of a 2.7 million share secondary offering by the company.

1. MasTec, Inc. (MTZ): $15.41

Shares of this infrastructure construction company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• CEO Jose Ramon Mas acquired 397,647 shares, paying $16.34 per share for a total amount of $6.49 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through trusts.
• Director Jorge Mas acquired 276,000 shares, paying $16.33 per share for a total amount of $4.51 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through trusts.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for MasTec, Inc. here.

2. Emerge Energy Services LP (EMES): $13.55

Director Ted W. Beneski acquired 581,728 shares of this energy services provider, paying $17.15 per share for a total amount of $9.98 million. Mr. Beneski increased his stake by 103.26% to 1,145,102 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Emerge Energy Services LP here.

3. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX): $9.58

Director Gerald J. Ford acquired 1,000,000 shares of this mining company, paying $9.94 per share for a total amount of $9.94 million. These shares were acquired indirectly by Diamond Family Investments LP.

Voluntary Disclosure: I hold a long position in Freeport-McMoRan.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Freeport-McMoRan Inc. here.

4. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $12

Shares of this medical devices and drug development company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 544,000 shares, paying $12.32 per share for a total amount of $6.7 million. These shares were acquired indirectly by Frost Gamma Investments Trust.
• Executive VP-Administration Steven D. Rubin acquired 2,000 shares, paying $12.40 per share for a total amount of $24,799. Mr. Rubin increased his stake by 0.04% to 5,441,407 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Opko Health, Inc. here.

5. Pacific DataVision, Inc. (PDVW): $31.51

Shares of this wireless communications applications company were acquired by 7 insiders:

• 10% Owner Stephen Feinberg acquired 158,942 shares, paying $33.09 per share for a total amount of $5.26 million.
• CEO and President John Pescatore acquired 1,500 shares, paying $31.00 per share for a total amount of $46,500. Mr. Pescatore increased his stake by 2.89% to 53,394 shares with this purchase.
• Chairman of the Board Brian McAuley acquired 1,500 shares, paying $31.60 per share for a total amount of $47,400.
• EVP and Secretary Richard E. Rohmann acquired 1,000 shares, paying $32.44 per share for a total amount of $32,440. Mr. Rohmann increased his stake by 8.89% to 12,243 shares with this purchase.
• Chief Sales & Marketing Harvey Leon Frazier acquired 1,000 shares, paying $32.79 per share for a total amount of $32,790. Mr. Frazier increased his stake by 117.37% to 1,852 shares with this purchase.
• General Counsel Thomas J. Sidman acquired 934 shares, paying $32.00 per share for a total amount of $29,888. Mr. Sidman increased his stake by 232.92% to 1,335 shares with this purchase.
• Chief Financial Officer Timothy Gray acquired 400 shares, paying $32.42 per share for a total amount of $12,968. Mr. Gray increased his stake by 69.93% to 972 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Pacific DataVision, Inc. here.

Notable Insider Sales:

1. DR Horton Inc. (DHI): $31.01

Chairman Donald R. Horton sold 2,860,000 shares of this homebuilding company for $31.85, generating $91.08 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for DR Horton Inc. here.

2. Aetna Inc. (AET): $115.51

Shares of this health care benefits company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Senior EVP, Healthagen Joseph M. Zubretsky sold 179,087 shares for $118.66, generating $21.25 million from the sale.
• Director Franklin Barbara Hackman sold 2,064 shares for $118.47, generating $244,514 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Aetna Inc. here.

3. O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY): $238.17

Chairman of the Board David E. O’Reilly sold 75,000 shares of this auto parts retailer for $250.00, generating $18.75 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly as trustee for reporting person’s children and a GRAT, and in the Company’s 401k plan.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for O’Reilly Automotive Inc. here.

4. Jarden Corp. (JAH): $51.29

Shares of this consumer products company were sold by 3 insiders:

• Executive Chairman Martin E. Franklin sold 200,000 shares for $54.80, generating $10.96 million from the sale.
• Vice Chairman and President Ian G. Ashken sold 66,666 shares for $54.80, generating $3.65 million from the sale.
• Chief Executive Officer James E. Lillie sold 33,333 shares for $54.80, generating $1.83 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Jarden Corp. here.

5. Knight Transportation Inc. (KNX): $25.66

Executive Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 500,000 shares of this trucking company for $27.81, generating $13.9 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Knight Transportation Inc. here.

You can view the full list of sales from this Insider Sales page.