BlackRock Inc. (BLK) and Two Other Companies Register Noteworthy Insider Selling

Drive-thru Chain Has Board Member Sell Shares

Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ:SONC) had one member of its Board sell big in the past several days. Director Frank E. Richardson III sold 20,000 shares on Friday, 30,000 shares on Monday and 1,100 shares on Tuesday at prices that ranged from $35.00 to $35.14 per share. Mr. Richardson currently holds 1.32 million shares, and an indirect ownership stake of 16,484 shares through trust funds for his children.

The shares of the Oklahoma-based fast food chain have gained 211% in the past five years, 68% in the past two years, and 14% in the past year alone. Therefore, Mr. Richardson, who has been on Sonic’s Board since 1991, might have decided to take some profits off the table and diversify his holdings. Despite facing tough competition from giants such as McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), the drive-thru chain has managed to grow at a high pace in the last couple of years years. Sonic’s financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2016 that ended February 29 beat analysts’ top- and bottom-line estimates, serving as a strong catalyst for the stock. The company’s second-quarter net income per diluted share grew 57% year-on-year to $0.22, while system same-store sales increased 6.5% year-on-year.

The shares of the drive-thru chain are changing hands at around 22.6-times expected earnings, below the forward P/E multiple of 25.1 for the restaurant industry, but significantly above the average of 18.8 for the Nasdaq 100 Index. The smart money sentiment towards Sonic declined during the December quarter, with the number of funds invested in the company shrinking to 23 from 30 quarter-quarter. Eric Bannasch’s Cadian Capital acquired a new stake of nearly 455,000 shares in Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ:SONC) during the final quarter of 2015.