Corporate Insiders at Alcoa Inc. (AA) and Two Other Battered Companies Keep Buying Shares

Biopharmaceutical Company Witnesses Cluster of Insider Buying

CymaBay Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:CBAY) has registered a cluster of insider buying in April involving three different executives. Patrick J. O’Mara, Vice President for Business Development, bought 5,000 shares on Friday at a cost of $1.64 per share, lifting his holding to 5,022 shares. Charles A. McWherther, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, acquired 3,000 units of common stock on Friday at a price tag of $1.68 per share. After the recent purchase, Dr. McWherther owns 5,000 shares. Last but not least, Chief Financial Officer Sujal Shah purchased 55,000 shares at the beginning of April for $1.39 each.

The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for the treatment of metabolic diseases has seen its shares advance an impressive 33% since the beginning of 2016. However, the stock is down 55% in the past 52 weeks. CymaBay Therapeutics focuses on two key clinical assets: MBX-8025, which is designed for the treatment of various orphan and liver diseases; and arhalofenate, developed for the treatment of gout. CymaBay has successfully completed end-of-Phase 2 meeting discussions with the FDA regarding arhalofenate, but the company is currently discussing with possible partners to combine forces for the initiation of Phase 3 development for the drug this year.

The number of money managers from our database with positions in the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company declined to seven from ten during the December quarter, with those ten funds accumulating almost 21% of the company’s outstanding shares. Adage Capital Management, founded by Phil Gross and Robert Atchinson, was the largest equity holder of CymaBay Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:CBAY) on December 31 with 1.70 million shares.