Are High Profile Executives Pointing to Grim Prospects at These 3 Companies? eBay Inc. (EBAY) Among Them

Moving on to the next potential short-selling opportunity, Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) has seen two key executives sell stock over the past week or so. Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mark Graf reported selling 20,000 shares on Monday at a weighted average price of $56.48, trimming his stake to 131,791 shares. James V. Panzarino, Executive Vice President and President of Credit & Card Operations, unloaded 20,000 shares on Thursday at prices between $55.91 and $55.95. After the recent sale, the executive currently holds a stake of 77,288 shares. The shares of the credit-card issuer are down by 14% year-to-date despite advancing 8% since the beginning of the fourth quarter. Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)’s third-quarter net profit beat analysts’ expectations, thanks to its strong credit performance and share buybacks. The company posted net income of $612 million or $1.38 per share, down from $644 million or $1.37 per share reported a year ago. Doug Silverman and Alexander Klabin’s Senator Investment Group added a 3.25 million-share position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) during the second quarter.

Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (NYSE:SWK) is another company that has seen strong insider trading activity on the sell side lately. Chief Executive Officer and Chairman John F. Lundgren offloaded 60,000 shares on Monday at a price of $105.45 per share and currently holds 531,977 shares. Donald Allan, who has served as Chief Financial Officer since January 2009 and Senior Vice President since March 2010, disposed of 16,286 shares on Tuesday for $105.88 each, reducing his overall holding to 102,501 shares. The provider of tools and storage, commercial electronic security and engineered fastening systems has seen its stock advance slightly over 10% since the beginning of the year. The company’s investors and watchers have regained confidence in the stock after Stanley Black & Decker disclosed its third-quarter financial results. It is also worth pointing out that the U.S. Commerce Department has recently disclosed that housing starts increased by 6.5% in September to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.21 million homes. Thus, Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (NYSE:SWK) is anticipated to have a great fourth quarter, so it would be imprudent to claim that the aforementioned executives fear a grim outlook for the company. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group owned 2.41 million shares of Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (NYSE:SWK) as of June 30.

Disclosure: None