Friday January 11, 01:08 PM
Insiders extend bullish streak
NEW YORK (AP) - As fears of a recession extended Wall Street losses into the New Year, insiders prolonged their bullish streak, according to a report from a Web site that tracks insider deals.
InsiderScore.com said buying by company insiders outpaced selling for the past 12 weeks. Analysts look to the buying and selling trends of insiders, who are typically long-term investors, for clues to the broader market outlook.
Insider buying has been driven higher as the subprime mortgage meltdown, credit crisis and higher fuel costs spurred fears of a recession and pushed down stock prices.
'The turn of the calendar put an end to tax-loss selling, helping push sentiment further into bullish territory,' InsiderScore.com said. 'Market tumult like we've seen recently typically brings out a rash of buyers, but many insiders are on the sidelines due to quarterly lock-ups.'
Despite the overall buying trend, InsiderScore.com noted that insider sentiment in the utilities industry has slipped to its most bearish levels since July.
For example, insiders at both National Fuel Gas Co (NYSE: NFG - news) . and FirstEnergy Corp (NYSE: FE - news) . have sold shares recently as the companies' stock traded near 52-week highs.
National Fuel Gas Senior Vice President John R. Pustulka sold nearly 100,000 shares between Dec. 28 and Jan. 4. FirstEnergy President and Chief Executive Anthony J. Alexander exercised options for 80,450 shares on Jan. 4 and then sold all the shares on the same day.
Insider sales were also notable at several struggling companies.
At Bear Stearns Cos., Director Paul 'Tony' Novelly sold more than a quarter of his holdings on Dec. 28. Novelly unloaded 50,000 shares through St. Albans Global Management, a hedge fund that handles his investments.
The collapse of the subprime mortgage market, which has hurt all Wall Street investment banks, has been particularly hard on Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC - news) . The company's shares have lost more than half their value during the past year, and on Tuesday Bear Stearns CEO James 'Jimmy' Cayne said he would step down.
At Dell Inc., Director Michael Miles sold 284,000 shares on Jan. 2. According to InsiderScore.com, the sale was the first insider transaction of any kind since a lock-up related to the company's delinquent financial statements expired in October. The sale was also the first for Miles since August 2005.
Dell (NASDAQ: DELL - news) shares have dropped from a 52-week high of $30.77 on Oct. 31 to a low of $20.44 on Wednesday. The company has struggled to turn its business around since last summer, when it faced an internal accounting probe and a huge recall of laptop batteries.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
NNNN
|
|
|
Send Article by Email
Send Article by IM
Blog This with Y! 360
Printable View
