Corporate Insiders Raiding The Piggy Bank To Buy Shares Of These Three Companies

Let’s move on to Harvard Bioscience Inc. (NASDAQ:HBIO), a global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of a wide range of solutions to advance life science. Jeffrey A. Duchemin, President and Chief Executive Officer, added 2,000 shares of the company at a price of $4.41 per share to his stake, which now comprises 150,210 shares. Additionally, one of the company’s directors, John F. Kennedy, also acquired 2,000 shares this week at $4.33 apiece, amassing a stake of 177,330 shares in the process. The shares of Harvard Bioscience have been on a downtrend since the end of June, losing nearly 22% year-to-date. The recent corporate insider purchases imply the aforementioned downtrend is groundless, which might actually be the case given that the company had a strong second quarter. Harvard Bioscience’s revenues increased by 7% year-over-year to $28.8 million despite facing continued foreign exchange headwinds. The company also reported non-GAAP net income of $1.6 million, compared to $1.9 million reported in the same quarter of 2014. Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates is one of the largest shareholders of Harvard Bioscience Inc. (NASDAQ:HBIO) within our database, owning 1.32 million shares at the end of June.

Finally, let’s look at the recent insider buying activity at Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (NYSE:CHD). The company has not seen insider buying activity for a few years, which makes the recent purchase made by Independent Director Janet S. Vergis quite significant. Specifically, she reported buying 1,000 shares at a price of $84.82 per share, lifting her stake to 2,100 shares. Even though Church & Dwight Co. is set to face aggressive competition and a strong U.S. dollar, the manufacturer of a broad range of personal care, household, and specialty products is confident that its 2015 business targets will be achieved. Church & Dwight Co.’s management also reckons that its innovative focus and a potential gross margin expansion will assist the company in reaching a 7-9% adjusted earnings per share (EPS) growth this year. Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, which is piling up more shares of Five Prime Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:FPRX) today, is the top equity holder of Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (NYSE:CHD) within our database, owning over 774,000 shares.

Disclosure: None