Does Insider Selling Suggest Grim Tidings For These Companies?

Let’s not move on to Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS), which has seen its stock drop by over 28% since the beginning of the year. Director Michael A. Leven reported selling 21,000 shares through multiple transactions at prices ranging from $45.12 to $46.62 per share, all of which were held by the Michael and Andrea Leven Revocable Trust. After the recent transactions, the Director owns 473,529 shares indirectly through this family trust. At the same time, Michael Leven owns an additional 5,315 shares directly, along with another 59,627 shares owned indirectly. Casino gaming stocks have suffered significantly over the last year or so, as gaming revenue in Macau has dropped for fifteen straight months. Las Vegas Sands, which operates several integrated resorts in Macau, is no exception. Reportedly, the Chinese government intends to implement more stimulus measures in Macau, after special administrative region’s government started pursing austerity measures to tackle the falling gaming revenue. Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors reported an ownership stake of 699,519 shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) through its latest 13F with the SEC.

Lastly, we will examine the insider selling activity at Digimarc Corp (NASDAQ:DMRC), a provider of media identification and management solutions. Bruce L. Davis, CEO and chairman of Digimarc, offloaded 4,485 shares at prices ranging from $37.08-to-$37.75 per share, trimming his stake of common stock to 101,481 shares. The CEO also owns 5,000 series A redeemable non-voting preferred shares, and a sizable amount of non-qualified stock options. Apparently, Digimarc’s stock performance has not been impacted by the recent broader market slump, with its shares gaining 33% since the beginning of the year. The company delivered a strong second quarter financial performance as its digital watermark technology continues to gain recognition. The Digimarc Barcode is an invisible watermark technology that makes it very easy and efficient to scan traditional barcoded items. Having said that, it is hard to stipulate the reasoning behind the CEO’s recent sale, which might be somewhat unrelated to the company’s prospects. Richard Mashaal’s RIMA Senvest Management represents the largest shareholder of Digimarc Corp (NASDAQ:DMRC) within our database, owning 625,000 shares.

Disclosure: None