As we enter the thick of earnings season, insider buying decreased significantly last week with insiders buying $6.38 million of stock compared to $44.58 million in the week prior. Selling on the other hand increased with insiders selling $578.34 million of stock last week compared to $422.31 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 increased to 90.65. In other words, insiders sold  almost 91 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 9.69. We have not seen such a big increase in the buy/sell ratio since September 12, 2014 when the ratio spiked to 95.05. The S&P 500 went on to lose over 6% over the next five weeks. If it is any consolation, the S&P 500 erased those losses and went on to hit new highs less than two weeks later. 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 July 15, 2016

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. Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (RHP): $53.78

Chairman & CEO Colin V. Reed acquired 7,377 shares of this hotel operator, paying $53.44 per share for a total amount of $394,259. Mr. Reed increased his stake by 0.73% to 1,022,861 shares with this purchase.

Ryman’s 5.58% dividend yield is noteworthy in this low interest rate environment, especially considering the average yield of equity REITs is currently 3.65% according to NAREIT.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. here.

2. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $9.95

CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 25,800 shares of this devices and drug development company, paying $9.71 per share for a total amount of $250,635. 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. Actuant Corporation (ATU): $24.08

President & CEO Randal W. Baker acquired 10,795 shares of this industrial products and systems company, paying $23.14 per share for a total amount of $249,796. Mr. Baker increased his stake by 20.30% to 63,979 shares with this purchase.

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

4. Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI): $62.48

Director James P. Fogarty acquired 3,000 shares of this restaurant chain, paying $61.70 per share for a total amount of $185,100. Mr. Fogarty increased his stake by 61.35% to 7,890 shares with this purchase.

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

5. Jazz Pharmaceuticals Public Limited Company (JAZZ): $142.38

Global Head of R&D and CMO Karen L. Smith acquired 580 shares of this biotech company, paying $143.63 per share for a total amount of $83,305. Ms. Smith increased her stake by 4.46% to 13,574 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Jazz Pharmaceuticals Public Limited Company here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Facebook, Inc. (FB): $116.86

Shares of Facebook were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Jan Koum sold 1,721,436 shares for $118.13, generating $203.35 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• Chief Product Officer Christopher K. Cox sold 15,600 shares for $117.71, generating $1.84 million from the sale.

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

2. Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST): $166.41

Shares of this warehouse retailer were sold by 3 insiders:

• Former Executive VP Douglas W. Schutt sold 14,656 shares for $166.76, generating $2.44 million from the sale.
• Executive Vice President John D. McKay sold 7,500 shares for $166.58, generating $1.25 million from the sale.
• Executive VP and CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 2,400 shares for $167.08, generating $400,982 from the sale.

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

3. Glaukos Corporation (GKOS): $31.45

Shares of this ophthalmic medical technology company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Chief Executive Officer Thomas William Burns sold 162,254 shares for $30.07, generating $4.88 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• Treasurer, CFO & Secretary Richard L. Harrison sold 5,700 shares for $30.00, generating $171,000 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.

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

4. Western Gas Partners LP (WES): $49.11

Director James R. Crane sold 97,371 shares of this oil & gas pipelines company for $50.40, generating $4.91 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Western Gas Partners LP here.

5. HealthEquity, Inc. (HQY): $29.99

Shares of this healthcare information services provider were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Ian Sacks sold 100,000 shares for $30.27, generating $3.03 million from the sale.
• Founder and Vice Chairman Stephen Neeleman sold 30,000 shares for $30.52, generating $915,604 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.

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

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