What Has Insiders Bullish On These Three Companies?

Let’s proceed with the investigation of the insider buying activity at Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH), which has seen two different Directors acquire stock this week. James S. Ely III, who was elected to the company’s Board of Directors in May 2009, purchased a 10,000-share block at a price of $29.25 per share and currently holds 30,227 shares. John A. Clerico, who has served as a Director at Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH) since 2003, snapped up 10,000 shares on Wednesday at $27.62 apiece. After the recent transaction, the Director holds a stake of 95,217 shares. The shares of the hospital operator are down by 44% year-to-date, mainly owing to the firm’s weak third quarter financial figures which were released recently. Some tend to believe that the company’s third quarter earnings report reflects the weakening positive effect of the Affordable Care Act on hospital operators, but the company’s management is confident in its future prospects. Meanwhile, the stock is currently trading at a trailing P/E ratio of 8.64, which makes it a good buying opportunity at the moment. The hedge funds tracked by our team found the stock more appealing during the second quarter, as the number of top money managers invested in the hospital operator increased to 61 from 55 quarter-over-quarter. Larry Robbins’ Glenview Capital was bullish on Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH) at the end of the June quarter, owning a 12.09 million-share stake.

Lastly, BofI Holding Inc. (NASDAQ:BOFI) is another company that had insiders buy stock in the past few days. President and Chief Executive Officer Gregory Garrabrants bought 6,670 shares on Tuesday and 1,605 shares on Wednesday, at prices in the range of $85.38-to-$94.94. The 6,670 shares were acquired for the Mercury Children’s Trust, which currently holds 42,670 shares. At the same time, the CEO holds a direct ownership stake of 184,798 shares. Moreover, Director Nick Mosich purchased 150 shares on Tuesday for $85.90 each, and currently holds a 24,936-share stake. In mid-October, The New York Times reported that a former internal auditor of the company filed a lawsuit alleging that he was fired “after revealing what he believed to be wrongdoing at the bank to federal regulators and management at Bank of Internet”. BofI Holding Inc. (NASDAQ:BOFI)’s shares tanked in October, but they are still 25% in the green year-to-date. Thus, it appears that these insiders are attempting to lessen the concerns about the ongoing issues at the company. Matthew A. Weatherbie’s Weatherbie Capital owned 571,227 shares of BofI Holding Inc. (NASDAQ:BOFI) at the end of the June quarter.

Disclosure: None