Over the past month three companies have reported insider buys as their price hits or nears 52-week lows. Looking at insider buys while they’re trading at low prices can offer an excellent time to buy into a company or further your research on the company. Peter Lynch once offered that insiders will sell their shares in a company for many reasons, but they will only invest it if they think that the share price will rise.
The following four companies are trading at or within 5% of their 52-week low share price and reported insider buy(s) over the past 30 days.
Ocera Therapeutics (OCRX)
Recently two insiders at Ocera Therapeutics made buys into the company as its price has fallen to a 52-week low. These two insiders reported the first buys for the company since July of 2013. These insiders consist of President and CEO Linda Grais and Acting CFO and Treasurer Sharon Tetlow.
Linda Grais made her buy on July 11, adding 10,000 shares to her holdings. The CEO added these shares at $5.93 per share for a total transaction amount of $59,300. Since her buy the price per share has continued to decline and is now trading down approximately -6.03% to $5.92 per share.
Sharon Tetlow added a smaller 3,000 shares to her holdings on July 11. The acting CFO purchased these shares ten cents cheaper at $5.83 per share for a total transaction amount of $17,490. Since her buy the price per share has dropped an additional -4.46%.
The last set of insider buys came in July when several 10% owners of the company made large buys.
Ocera Therapeutics Inc is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company. The company is engaged in the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for patients with acute and chronic liver disease, an area of high unmet medical need.
Ocera Therapeutics’ historical revenue and net income:
The analysis on Ocera reports that the company’s Piotroski F-Score is low, its Sloan Ratio shows a poor quality of earnings and its revenue per share has been in decline over the past three years. On the other hand its price is sitting near a 5-year low.
Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) is currently the only guru that holds a position in the company’s stock. Check out his holding history here.
Ocera Therapeutics has a market cap of $92.5 million. Its shares are currently trading at around $5.92 with a P/S ratio of 457.20 and a P/B ratio of 2.20.
Hercules Offshore (HERO)
Over the past month we have seen three different insiders making buys into Hercules Offshore. These buys come as the company’s price has fallen to a 52-week low and is nearing its 3-year low as well. The insiders making buys into the company consist of Director Steven Webster, Director Thomas Bates and President and CEO John Rynd. These insider buys came during the last week of June, and the company’s price has recently flattened to around $4.00 per share.
On June 30 Director Steven Webster added 150,000 shares to his stake. He bought these shares at $4.02 per share for a total transaction amount of $603,000. Since his buy the price per share is trading down about -1.24%. Webster is the largest insider holder of Hercules Offshore stock, holding on to 2,393,654 shares of the company’s stock.
On June 24 Director Thomas Bates added 20,000 to his holdings. The insider bought these shares at $3.93 per share for a total transaction amount of $78,600. Since this buy the price per share has increased approximately 1.02%. Bates now holds on to 280,000 shares of Hercules stock.
Also on June 24, CEO and President John Rynd added 36,000 shares of Hercules’ shares to their holdings. The CEO bought these shares at around $4.01 per share for a total transaction amount of $144,360. Since his buy the price per share has dropped approximately -1%. As of this most recent buy, Rynd holds on to 1,006,079 shares of the company’s stock.
As can been seen in the chart above, Hercules Offshore has been increasing their insider ownership as the company’s price has fallen.
Hercules Offshore provides shallow-water drilling and marine services to the oil and natural gas exploration and production industry globally. It provides these services to national oil and gas companies, major integrated energy companies and independent oil and natural gas operators.
Hercules Offshore’s historical revenue and net income:
The analysis on Hercules Offshore report that the company’s revenue per share has been in decline over the past five years, its price is near a 2-year low and its P/B and P/S ratios are trading near historical lows. Check out the new GuruFocus Analysis Page!
As of the close of the first quarter there were five gurus that held a position in Hercules Offshore, with Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) maintaining the largest position. Check out these gurus’ holding histories of HERO here.
Hercules Offshore has a market cap of $660.3 million. Its shares are currently trading at around $4.11 with a P/S ratio of 0.70 and a P/B ratio of 0.80. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 5.50% over the past five years.
Pier 1 Imports (PIR)
Director Claire Babrowski recently made a buy into Pier 1 Imports’ stock. This buy comes despite the fact that the company’s insiders are consistently making sells of its stock. In fact this is the first insider buy reported for the company since Jan. 2012.
Babrowski added 2,600 shares to her already existing holdings on July 17. She bought these shares at $15.56 per share, which at the time was the company’s 52-week low price, but since her buy the price per share has dropped an additional -1.03%. The director now holds on to at least 10,909 shares of Pier 1 Imports’ stock.
In the chart above you can see the consistent insider selling as well as the three green lines representing insider buys. These buys come as the company’s price is sitting near lows.
Pier 1 Imports is a specialty retailer of imported decorative home furnishings and gifts in the North America. It directly imports merchandise from many countries, and sells a variety of decorative accessories, furniture collections, housewares and other seasonal assortments in its stores.
Pier 1 Imports’ historical revenue and net income:
The analysis on Pier 1 reports that the company’s asset growth is faster than its revenue growth, the company’s dividend yield is close to a 5-year high, and its P/B and P/S ratios are trading at near 2-year lows.
As of the close of the first quarter 2014 there were four gurus that held a position in PIR, with Columbia Wanger (Trades, Portfolio) holding the largest stake. Check out these gurus’ historical holding histories here.
The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently overvalued:
Pier 1 Imports has a market cap of $1.44 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around $15.44 with a P/E ratio of 15.60, a P/S ratio of 0.90 and a P/B ratio of 4.10. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 26.50% over the past five years.
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