What Has These Insiders Excited About Their Companies’ Stock?

Moving on to Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL), Director Jan Stern Reed acquired a 1,000-share stake on Tuesday at a price of $51.21 per unit. Just recently, the manufacturer of specialty and intermediate chemicals released strong third quarter financial results. Although the U.S dollar acted as a drag on the company’s bottom-line, Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL)’s net income increased by 85% year-over-year to $24.9 million or $1.09 per diluted share. Specifically, the foreign currency translation affected the net income figure by $2.8 million or $0.12 per share. In the meantime, the company’s net sales decreased by 10% year-over-year to $444.01 million, mainly owing to lower selling prices and the impact of currency exchange rates. Even so, the volume of sales increased by 7% compared to the same quarter last year. The stock is 33% in the green year-to-date, but its forward P/E ratio of 14.59 might suggest that the stock has more room to run in the months ahead. Let’s also not forget to mention that Stepan Company announced a 5.6% increase to its quarterly cash dividend, to $0.19 per share. David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management added a 128,000-share position in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) to its portfolio during the June quarter.

Finally, we will investigate the insider buying activity at clinical-stage pharmaceutical company Cempra Inc. (NASDAQ:CEMP). Director Michael R. Dougherty purchased a new 2,000-share block on Monday for $18.45 each. Garheng Kong, another member of the company’s Board of Directors, also bought a new stake of 2,830 shares at a weighted average price of $17.42. The shares of the company have been on a downfall since late July, losing 62% from July 31 through October 22, when the pharmaceutical company released its third quarter financial results and corporate update. The stock has bounced back by 51% since then and is slightly over 1% in the green year-to-date. Although there was nothing about Cempra Inc. (NASDAQ:CEMP)’s financial results that would encourage investors to regain confidence in the company, it appears that its clinical development highlights have reassured long-term investors that the company is set to reach its long-term goals. Dennis Purcell’s Aisling Capital was the largest shareholder of Cempra Inc. (NASDAQ:CEMP) within our database at the end of the second quarter, holding 2.19 million shares.

Disclosure: None