Heavy Insider Buying And What It Might Signal For These Stocks

Let’s now take a look at the insider buying activity at global footwear company Caleres Inc. (NYSE:CAL) (formerly Brown Shoe Company). Director Lori H. Greeley acquired a new stake of 1,000 shares at a price of approximately $31.09 per share. Even though the purchase is not overly substantial, this trade is worth mentioning given that it represents the first insider purchase over the past year or so at the company. Caleres Inc. (NYSE:CAL)’s financial performance improved during the second quarter, thanks to the company’s investments in its long-term strategic growth initiatives. The footwear company also restructured some of its debt during that quarter, which resulted in the reduction of its interest rate to 6.25% from 7.125%. It is also worth pointing out that the company has been focused on driving margin expansion and strengthening its balance sheet, which unquestionably serve as two long-term drivers of growth. Balyasny Asset Management, founded by Dmitry Balyasny, owns nearly 523,000 shares of Caleres Inc. (NYSE:CAL) as of June 30.

Last but not least, newly-public company CytomX Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:CTMX) had three different insiders acquire stock through its initial public offering last week. W. Michael Kavanaugh, who serves as Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Research and Early Development at CytomX, acquired a 5,000-share stake at the IPO price of $12.00 per share. Cynthia J. Ladd, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, also purchased a new stake of 3,000 shares at the same price. Lastly, Frederick W. Gluck reported the acquisition of 15,000 shares, 5,000 shares of which were acquired by Richlin Partners LLC, an entity owned by his spouse. After the recent transaction, the Director holds a direct ownership stake of 147,791 shares. On October 14, the biopharmaceutical company, which is developing Probody therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, raised approximately $80 million in capital through its IPO of 7.67 million shares. There is no doubt that the insider acquisitions related to IPOs do not bear overly strong signals for investors; however, the aforementioned purchases show the confidence of CytomX Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:CTMX)’s executives and directors in the potential of its product. At this point in time, the shares of CytomX Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:CTMX) are trading 5.50% above the price of their IPO offering.

Disclosure: None