Top CEO Insider Purchases of the Week: HK, OPK, MPO, HTS

PUBLISHED: Nov 16 2012 @ 12:24 | Comments (0) | More info about Ed Liston

Nobody knows the company secrets better than its CEO. While most of us investors lack the resources to interact with a company’s top management, we can certainly pay heed to certain actions taken by them. The law requires a company’s top management to make public declaration about their trades in their company stock. So, when a company CEO decides to invest their money in the stock, it indicates the future potential of the stock. However, you should not read into it in isolation. I take stock of CEO purchases and sales but then verify my conclusion by taking into account other factors such as news and financial ratios. So, here is my list of top CEO purchases made in this week:

Halcon Resources Corporation (NYSE:HK): The company CEO bought 175,000 shares from the open market at the average price of $5.71. The total transaction worth $999,828 and this show of confidence may make you look at the company stock in a new light. However, Halcon Resources is currently trading at $5.69, down 0.18 percent from its previous close of $5.70. It has traded in the range of $2.85 and $13.35 in the past 52 weeks. The company recently reported its third quarter results and also updated its full year forecast. Halcon Resources reported 77 percent increase in its production during the third quarter. Its revenue for the quarter stood at $731 million, up from $24.2 million it had earned for the corresponding quarter of the year. Its net loss for the quarter was reported at $0.9 million. On per share per basis, the net loss stood at a penny per share. The stock is trading above its 20 days moving average price of $5.63 and 50 days moving average price of $5.65.

Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK): The company reported 74 percent increase in its quarterly revenue and its CEO Phillip Frost lapped up 77,500 and 62,500 shares in two different transactions. The average price for these transactions stood at $4.42 and $4.39 respectively. The stock itself is trading down today at $4.43, down 0.03 percent from its previous close. It is trading above its 20 days moving average price of $4.38 and 50 days moving average price of $4.39. The company reported $11.8 million in revenue for the third quarter. It had earned $6.8 million in revenue during the corresponding quarter of the last year. However, its loss ballooned from $8.2 million to $9.6 million this year. Opko reported that its major revenue increase was due to the acquisitions made. The stock is trading at the beta of 0.94. It has traded in the range of $4.00 and $5.53 in the past 52 weeks.

Midstates Petroleum Company Inc. (NYSE:MPO): The company CEO bought 100,000 shares in two separate transactions. These transactions were made at the average price of $5.35 and $5.14 per share. Midstates Petroleum Company reported increase in its production for the third quarter of the year. The company’s adjusted EBITDA for the quarter stood at $32.7 million, whereas its adjusted net income was reported at $0.1 million. However, taking into account unrealized losses, the company suffered net loss of $17.8 million in the third quarter. Midstates Petroleum Company’s revenue from oil, natural gas and NGL increased to $59.5 million. Its revenue for the corresponding quarter of the last year was at $51.8 million. The stock is currently trading at $5.29, up 3.12 percent from its previous close of $5.13. It has traded in the range of $4.71 and $16.95 in the past 52 weeks. However, the stock is trading above its 20 days moving average price of $5.24 and 50 days moving average price of $5.19. The company is engaged in the business of exploring and developing oil/gas properties.

Hatteras Financial Corp. (NYSE:HTS): The company stock saw some major interest from its CEO, who scooped up $248,440 worth of shares. The purchase was made at the average price of $24.84 for 10,000 shares. The stock is trading slightly above this price at $25.73 in its current trading session. It has traded in the range of $24.96 and $25.76 in current session. The company stock received another boost in the form of rating upgrade from Wells Fargo. Hatteras Financial is now rated outperformer, up from its previous rating of market performer. Another research firm Ladenburg also upped the rating from Neutral to Buy for Hatteras Financial stock. The stock is trading above its 20 days moving average price of $25.72 and 50 days moving average price of $25.63.

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