Insider buying declined last week with insiders buying $136.88 million of stock compared to $150.44 million in the week prior. Selling increased with insiders selling $1.28 billion of stock last week compared to $1.15 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 went up to 9.35. In other words, insiders sold more than 9 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 7.67. 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.

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. Advance Auto Parts Inc. (AAP): $153.02

Shares of this auto parts retailer were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Director Jeffrey C. Smith acquired 397,624 shares, paying $154.84 per share for a total amount of $61.57 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through variousStarboard Value funds.
• CEO Thomas Greco acquired 6,700 shares, paying $150.82 per share for a total amount of $1.01 million. Mr. Greco increased his stake by 22.94% to 35,904 shares with this purchase.

If you haven’t followed the activism of Jeff Smith, this 2014 profile of him in Fortune aptly titled Starboard Value’s Jeff Smith: The Investor CEOs Fear Most makes for an interesting read.

Trading at 10 times EBITDA and nearly 30 times FCF, this auto parts retailer with over 5,100 stores and declining sales isn’t exactly a deep value company. The stock is off nearly 24% from its 52 week high set back in November and it hasn’t participated in the recent market rally.

However if you look beyond the immediate past and consider the record sales most auto manufacturers have been reporting, it stands to reason that this indicates strong tailwinds for auto parts companies, especially the ones that provide aftermarket parts like Advance Auto Parts does.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Advance Auto Parts Inc. here.

2. Public Storage (PSA): $241.79

Director B. Wayne Hughes acquired 22,100 shares of this equity real estate investment trust, paying $252.42 per share for a total amount of $5.58 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Public Storage here.

3. The Medicines Company (MDCO): $37.26

EVP & Chief Corporate Development Officer Christopher T. Cox acquired 99,325 shares of this pharmaceutical company, paying $37.71 per share for a total amount of $3.75 million. 65,655 of these shares were purchased indirectly by Mr. Cox’s immediate family members.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for The Medicines Company here.

4. Cheniere Energy, Inc. (LNG): $34.22

CEO and President Jack A. Fusco acquired 44,762 shares of this liquefied natural gas company, paying $33.51 per share for a total amount of $1.49 million. Mr. Fusco increased his stake by 20.92% to 258,762 shares with this purchase. 22,381 of these shares were acquired indirectly by Fusco Energy Investments.

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

5. Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc (PNK): $11.7

Shares of this casino operator were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Chief Executive Officer Anthony Michael Sanfilippo acquired 81,000 shares, paying $10.92 per share for a total amount of $884,426. Mr. Sanfilippo increased his stake by 15.42% to 606,293 shares with this purchase. 12,000 of these shares were purchased indirectly through a trust and 3,500 of these shares were purchased indirectly by Mr. Sanfilippo’s daughter.
• President and CFO Carlos Ruisanchez acquired 30,000 shares, paying $11.07 per share for a total amount of $332,000. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Bruker Corporation (BRKR): $24.8

Director Joerg C. Laukien sold 2,000,000 shares of this scientific instruments company for $25.65, generating $51.3 million from the sale.

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

2. ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW): $74.03

Shares of this software-as-a-service provider were sold by 2 insiders:

• Chief Product Officer Frederic B. Luddy sold 195,000 shares for $76.01, generating $14.82 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• Chief Revenue Officer David Schneider sold 12,500 shares for $74.35, generating $929,379 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 ServiceNow, Inc. here.

3. Gentex Corp. (GNTX): $15.98

Chairman of the Board & CEO Fred Bauer sold 351,700 shares of this auto and aerospace parts company for $16.45, generating $5.79 million from the sale.

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

4. Cimpress N.V. (CMPR): $93.28

CEO, President Robert S. Keane sold 87,354 shares of this business services company (operator of Vistaprint) for $100.11, generating $8.75 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through various trusts and entities.

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

5. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW): $131.26

President & CEO Mark D. McLaughlin sold 61,423 shares of this network security company for $138.43, generating $8.5 million from the sale. 35,000 of 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 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. here.

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