Insiders Are Buying Tyson Foods, Inc (TSN), Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX), and More

Calgon Carbon Corporation (NYSE:CCC) has also had one of its Board members buy shares with the filing showing a purchase of 9,000 shares in mid May. Activist hedge fund Starboard Value has taken a large position in Calgon, and while its plan is not clear the fund did nominate two independent directors to the Board following an agreement with company management. Calgon has also been a weak performer in recent quarters, with high earnings multiples and flat revenue last quarter compared to the first quarter of 2012; 12% of the float is held short.

Finally, a Form 4 filed with the SEC reported an insider purchase at E TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ETFC). The online broker is unprofitable on a trailing basis after some big earnings misses towards the end of 2012, and while it did break into the black in Q1 net income was still down 44% versus a year earlier. The forward P/E is 19, suggesting that investors have somewhat high expectations for eTrade. We’d note that the stock is very sensitive to movements in broader market indices, with a beta of 2.3.

E TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ETFC) and Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) both seem to be a bit pricy at this time given how their businesses have been doing. Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) has also been struggling, but if the company can hit analyst targets it will start to look more appealing and so it could be of interest if the next quarter or two show some good numbers. There is some potential for activist improvement at Calgon, but it’s probably better to wait and see if Starboard has any actual plans or if it merely wanted more independent oversight of the Board. As for Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR), we’d want to compare it to peers in refining and marketing first but the industry certainly seems like it has good value prospects.

Disclosure: I own no shares of any stocks mentioned in this article.