Welcome to edition 303 of Insider Weekends. Insider buying increased significantly last week with insiders buying $119.62 million of stock compared to $26.94 million in the week prior. Selling on the other hand declined with insiders selling $906 million of stock last week compared to $1.32 billion 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 dropped to 7.57. In other words, insiders sold more than 7 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 48.99. 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.

While the headline numbers indicate that insider buying jumped significantly and the Sell/Buy ratio dropped, looking deeper shows that 94% of the insider buying was related to a single transaction for Transmontaigne Partners (TLP) that appears to be a private placement with various entities indirectly related to a director of the company. Removing this transaction would mean insiders just purchased $7.2 million of stock last week. Some of this muted buying could be explained by the fact that we were in the first week of the quarter and earnings related quite periods at most companies.

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:

1. Actuant Corporation (ATU): $24.22

Shares of this industrial products and systems company were acquired by 3 insiders:

• EVP-Human Resources Eugene Edward Skogg acquired 10,000 shares, paying $24.46 per share for a total amount of $244,600. Mr. Skogg increased his stake by 10.49% to 105,319 shares with this purchase.
• Exec VP Industrial Segment Mark Sefcik acquired 6,500 shares, paying $24.50 per share for a total amount of $159,250. Mr. Sefcik increased his stake by 12.48% to 58,582 shares with this purchase.
• Pres. & CEO Randal W. Baker acquired 4,061 shares, paying $24.63 per share for a total amount of $100,022. Mr. Baker increased his stake by 8.62% to 51,153 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Actuant Corporation here.

2. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $10.73

CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 40,000 shares of this devices and drug development company, paying $10.45 per share for a total amount of $417,803. These shares were purchased indirectly by Frost Gamma Investments Trust.

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

3. Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (AMBC): $15.15

Shares of this insurance company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Chief Executive Officer Tavakoli Nader acquired 16,200 shares, paying $14.84 per share for a total amount of $240,408. Mr. Nader increased his stake by 9.92% to 179,487 shares with this purchase.
• Director Alexander David Greene acquired 10,000 shares, paying $15.05 per share for a total amount of $150,500. Mr. Greene increased his stake by 333.33% to 13,000 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Ambac Financial Group, Inc. here.

4. aTyr Pharma Inc. (LIFE): $3.2

Shares of this biotherapeutics company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Director Paul Schimmel acquired 90,000 shares, paying $3.29 per share for a total amount of $295,701. Mr. Schimmel increased his stake by 715.88% to 102,572 shares with this purchase.
• CEO and Director John Mendlein acquired 5,000 shares, paying $3.53 per share for a total amount of $17,675. Mr. Mendlein increased his stake by 2.03% to 250,971 shares with this purchase.

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

5. Engility Holdings, Inc. (EGL): $17.75

Chief Executive Officer Lynn A. Dugle acquired 13,656 shares of this staffing & consulting services provider, paying $18.30 per share for a total amount of $249,944.

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

You can view the full list of purchases from this Insider Buying page.

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Facebook, Inc. (FB): $110.63

Shares of Facebook were sold by 4 insiders:

• Director Jan Koum sold 1,434,530 shares for $112.78, generating $161.79 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg sold 109,000 shares for $112.78, generating $12.29 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Chief Technology Officer Michael Todd Schroepfer sold 20,000 shares for $113.75, generating $2.28 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• VP and General Counsel Colin Stretch sold 1,000 shares for $112.00, generating $112,000 from the sale.

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

2. Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (SIX): $59.42

Exec. Chairman James Reid-Anderson sold 281,646 shares of this theme park operator for $57.77, generating $16.27 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Six Flags Entertainment Corporation here.

3. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW): $147.85

Shares of this network security company were sold by 4 insiders:

• President & CEO Mark D. McLaughlin sold 35,000 shares for $160.04, generating $5.6 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Director James J. Goetz sold 23,643 shares for $157.14, generating $3.72 million from the sale.
• Chief Marketing Officer Rene Bonvanie sold 17,185 shares for $165.00, generating $2.84 million from the sale.
• Director Carl M. Eschenbach sold 1,780 shares for $160.57, generating $285,822 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Palo Alto Networks, Inc. here.

4. Mylan N.V. (MYL): $47

Executive Chairman Robert J. Coury sold 217,755 shares of this pharmaceutical company for $45.96, generating $10 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Mylan N.V. here.

5. QVC Group (QVCA): $25.98

Shares of this online commerce company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Michael A. George sold 150,000 shares for $25.10, generating $3.77 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Chairman of the Board John C. Malone sold 128,000 shares for $28.30, generating $3.62 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for QVC Group here.

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