Welcome to edition 211 of Insider Weekends. Insider buying edged up slightly last week with insiders buying $29.59 million of stock compared to $29.36 million in the week prior. Selling declined with insiders selling $819.56 million of stock last week compared to $856.32 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 dropped down to 27.7. In other words, insiders sold almost 28 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 29.17. 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 4, 2014

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. American Apparel, Inc. (APP): $0.87

CEO (Suspended) Dov Charney acquired 27,351,407 shares of this apparel chain, paying $0.71 per share for a total amount of $19.56 million. Mr. Charney increased his stake by 57.94% to 74,560,813 shares with this purchase. These shares were purchased indirectly through a fund.

This large purchase by Mr. Charney bumped his stake in American Apparel from 27% to 43% and was made possible through a $20 million loan from the hedge fund Standard General. The loan and purchase follow the board of directors decision to boot Mr. Charney from his position as Chairman and CEO of the company based on allegations of misuse of company funds and the dissemination of nude photos of a former employee. He has also been dogged for years by sexual harassment claims at the company that is known as much for its scantily clad models as it is for its “Made in America” claim.

The decision by the board to remove Mr. Charney could trigger a default of $40 million in debt. The company has a highly leveraged balance sheet with $251 million in debt and just $16.68 million in cash. The load by Standard General comes with strings attached and it appears that Mr. Charney is giving up voting control to Standard General and might not get his position as CEO back. The stock, which had been on a steady decline has rebounded in the wake of Mr. Charney’s potential ouster. You can read more about this rather strange set of events here and here.

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

2. Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc. (AXDX): $26.38

Shares of this medical instrumentation company were acquired by two insiders:

• 10% Owner Larry N. Feinberg acquired 20,000 shares, paying $25.72 per share for a total amount of $514,400.
• Director Jack W. Schuler acquired 18,698 shares, paying $25.91 per share for a total amount of $484,439.

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

3. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. (LTS): $3.5

Shares of this investment brokerage were acquired by 3 insiders:

• Director Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 200,000 shares, paying $3.36 per share for a total amount of $672,060. These shares were purchased indirectly by Frost Gamma Investments Trust.
• Director Saul Gilinski acquired 60,000 shares, paying $3.15 per share for a total amount of $188,700. Mr. Gilinski increased his stake by 5.31% to 1,189,989 shares with this purchase.
• Senior Vice President Joseph Giovanniello acquired 835 shares, paying $2.99 per share for a total amount of $2,497. Mr. Giovanniello increased his stake by 0.83% to 101,753 shares with this purchase. These shares were purchased indirectly under the Issuer’s employee stock purchase plan.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. here.

4. Hercules Offshore, Inc. (HERO): $4.16

Director Steven A. Webster acquired 150,000 shares of this offshore drilling company, paying $4.02 per share for a total amount of $602,470. Mr. Webster increased his stake by 9.58% to 1,715,140 shares with this purchase.

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

5. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $8.95

CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 63,000 shares of this medical devices and drug development company, paying $8.91 per share for a total amount of $561,028. These shares were purchased indirectly by Frost Gamma Investments Trust.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Nimble Storage, Inc. (NMBL): $29.61

Shares of this data storage company were sold by 4 insiders:

• Chief Financial Officer Anup V. Singh sold 150,000 shares for $30.25, generating $4.54 million from the sale.
• Chief Executive Officer Suresh Vasudevan sold 129,400 shares for $30.61, generating $3.96 million from the sale.
• Chief Technology Officer Umesh Maheshwari sold 32,000 shares for $30.06, generating $961,830 from the sale. 8,000 of these shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• VP Marketing Daniel Leary sold 14,200 shares for $30.90, generating $438,780 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 Nimble Storage, Inc. here.

2. Salesforce.com, Inc (CRM): $58.76

Shares of this Software as a Service (SaaS) provider were sold by 2 insiders:

• Chairman of the Board & CEO Marc Benioff sold 80,000 shares for $58.64, generating $4.69 million from the sale.
• Co-Founder Parker Harris sold 11,333 shares for $58.93, generating $667,869 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 Salesforce.com, Inc here.

3. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBGI): $35.9

Shares of this TV broadcasting company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Robert E. Smith sold 138,880 shares for $35.20, generating $4.88 million from the sale.
• Exec. VP and General Counsel Barry Faber sold 10,911 shares for $34.43, generating $375,693 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. here.

4. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (AMP): $122.42

Shares of this asset management company were sold by 3 insiders:

• Chairman and CEO James M. Cracchiolo sold 27,695 shares for $119.61, generating $3.31 million from the sale.
• Exec VP of Human Resources Kelli A. Hunter sold 8,249 shares for $119.86, generating $988,684 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Pres., Personal Advisors Group Donald E. Froude sold 4,500 shares for $119.87, generating $539,433 from the sale.

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

5. G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (GIII): $83.77

Shares of this apparel chain were sold by 6 insiders:

• Chief Executive Officer Morris Goldfarb sold 19,440 shares for $81.29, generating $1.58 millions from the sale.
• Chief Operating Officer Wayne S. Miller sold 16,250 shares for $81.26, generating $1.32 million from the sale.
• Vice Chairman Sammy Aaron sold 12,917 shares for $81.29, generating $1.05 million from the sale.
• Chief Financial Officer/Treas Neal Nackman sold 2,500 shares for $81.28, generating $203,202 from the sale.
• Director Jeffrey David Goldfarb sold 1,243 shares for $81.29, generating $101,044 from the sale.
• Director Katz Jeanette Nostra sold 641 shares for $81.29, generating $52,108 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. here.

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