According to a famous saying on Wall Street, “Insiders sell stocks for many reasons, but they only buy stocks for one reason.” (The SEC, according to Investopedia, defines an insider as ” an officer, director, or 10% shareholder of a company that has inside information into the company.”) In other words, insiders may sell stocks because they need money but only buy stock because they are confident about the companies’ outlook. That saying makes sense because nearly everybody buys stocks because they think they will go up sooner or later. (A few investors do buy stocks for their dividends). As a result, buying stocks that insiders can’t get enough of is a good strategy.
But insiders have more information about their companies than the rest of us. So looking to take bullish positions on stocks with great insider buying is certainly logical.
With that said, here are three stocks insiders love.
Howard Hughes (HHC)
Howard Hughes (NYSE:HHC) “owns, manages, and develops commercial, residential, and mixed-use properties.” The real estate developer focuses on owning and developing multifamily and single-family homes in planned communities.
One insider appears to be unable to get enough of HHC stock, and that’s Bill Ackman, the highly respected, multi-billionaire owner of Pershing Square Capital Management, a hedge fund. Ackman sits on HHC’s board.
Ackman bought about 100,000 more shares of the stock, raising his position in the name to 16 million in Q1. In Q4, the multi-billionaire acquired about 2.3 million shares of the real estate developer.
In Q1, HHC’s earnings before taxes from master-planned communities climbed 5% year-over-year, while its new-home sales surged 120% versus the previous quarter.
B. Riley (RILY)
According to fintel.io, a net total of six insider purchases of B. Riley’s (NASDAQ:RILY) shares were reported in the 90 days ending May 24. They spent $5.7 million on the company’s shares and bought the stock at an average price of $33.17.
Fintel.io gives B. Riley a very high “Insider Sentiment Score” of 96.65 out of 100.
On May 16, Bryant Riley, the company’s chairman, co-CEO, and co-founder, reported having bought 20,000 shares of RILY stock. On May 8, he reported having purchased 25,000 shares. The shares were not acquired within the framework of an “automatic purchase.”
In the first quarter, B. Riley’s sales soared 75% year-over-year to $432 million, and its net income came in at $15.14 million, versus a loss of $12 million during the same period a year earlier. Its EBITDA, excluding certain items, jumped 133% to $94.8 million.
Acquisitions helped boost the company’s financial results last quarter.
“As we look ahead, we see many opportunities to capitalize on the dislocations being presented by the current market environment and remain steadfast in our strategy,” Bryant Riley said.
Castellum (CTM)
Castellum (NYSE:CTM) “provides cybersecurity and information warfare software and services.” The company says that the U.S. government is one of its customers and reports having “commercial clients.” CTM stock has a market capitalization of only $36.44 million.
But insiders seem to love its shares, as they acquired an incredible $1 billion of its stock in six net purchases in the 90 days that ended on May 24, according to fintel.io.
The company’s general counsel, Jay Wright, made some of the acquisitions. On March 31, he reported having bought 18.400 shares, and on March 22, he reported a purchase of 9,400 shares. In total, in March, he reported having bought about 46,000 shares.
Also in March, board member Mark Alarie reported having snapped up nearly 63.000 shares, while another board member, John Campbell Francis, also reported having acquired nearly 63,000 shares.
In the first quarter, Catellum’s revenue came in at $9.9 million, while its gross profit was $4 million, and its operating loss was $4.67 million.
On the date of publication, Larry Ramer did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.