Welcome to edition 305 of Insider Weekends. Insider buying decreased last week with insiders buying $8.03 million of stock compared to $8.36 million in the week prior. Selling increased with insiders selling $596.17 million of stock last week compared to $362.04 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 went up to 74.28. In other words, insiders sold more than 74 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 43.36. 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.

With both the S&P 500 and the Dow within a stone’s throw of their all-time highs, this big jump in the insider sell/buy ratio could have been a concern if we were not in the thick of the first quarter earnings season. If the ratio remains elevated or insider buying remains muted as we exit the earnings season then the old adage “Sell in May and go away” might be relevant this year. Looking back over the last five years, that rule of thumb worked very well in 2011 and 2015 but not so much from 2012 through 2014, showing how timing the market over the short-term or long-term remains challenging if not nearly impossible.

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. United Continental Holdings, Inc. (UAL): $50.74

President and CEO Oscar Munoz acquired 19,800 shares of this airline, paying $50.53 per share for a total amount of $1 million. Mr. Munoz increased his stake by 13.76% to 163,675 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for United Continental Holdings, Inc. here.

2. Akamai Technologies, Inc. (AKAM): $51.13

Chief Executive Officer F. Thomson Leighton acquired 19,546 shares of this content delivery and cloud infrastructure company, paying $51.15 per share for a total amount of $999,778. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

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

3. Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (INO): $10.33

Director Morton Collins acquired 68,400 shares of this biotech company, paying $9.52 per share for a total amount of $650,925. These shares were purchased indirectly through trusts and IRA accounts.

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

4. Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (RHP): $50.34

Chairman & CEO Colin V. Reed acquired 7,400 shares of this hotel operator, paying $52.53 per share for a total amount of $388,694. Mr. Reed increased his stake by 0.73% to 1,015,484 shares with this purchase.

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

5. Monsanto Company (MON): $94.08

Director Charles S. McMillan acquired 3,500 shares of this agricultural products company, paying $87.25 per share for a total amount of $305,375. Mr. McMillan increased his stake by 6.37% to 58,440 shares with this purchase.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW): $29.72

Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 560,000 shares of this investment brokerage for $29.02, generating $16.25 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for The Charles Schwab Corporation here.

2. QVC Group (QVCA): $26.64

Director Mark C. Vadon sold 279,000 shares of this online commerce company for $26.37, generating $7.36 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by Lake Tana LLC.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for QVC Group here.

3. Intel Corporation (INTC): $31.64

Chairman Andy D. Bryant sold 185,740 shares of this semiconductor company for $31.98, generating $5.94 million from the sale.

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

4. salesforce.com, inc. (CRM): $76.48

Shares of this software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider were sold by 6 insiders:

• Chairman of the Board & CEO Marc Benioff sold 62,500 shares for $76.35, generating $4.77 million from the sale.
• EVP, General Counsel Amy E. Weaver sold 7,062 shares for $76.62, generating $541,082 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Co-Founder Parker Harris sold 5,000 shares for $76.30, generating $381,498 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Pres, Applications & Platform Alexandre Dayon sold 1,038 shares for $76.66, generating $79,573 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Director Craig Conway sold 400 shares for $76.28, generating $30,512 from the sale.
• Director John Victor Roos sold 180 shares for $77.53, generating $13,955 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for salesforce.com, inc. here.

5. Capella Education Co. (CPLA): $52.48

Director Stephen G. Shank sold 108,907 shares of this Education & Training Services company for $50.70, generating $5.52 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through trusts.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Capella Education Co. here.

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