Influential Insiders at Well-Known Freight Trucking Company and Ultratech Inc. (UTEK) Discard Shares, Plus Insider Buying at Other Companies

CEO of Lights and Lasers Maker Discards Shares

The most influential executive at Ultratech Inc. (NASDAQ:UTEK) offloaded a large amount of shares last week. Chairman and CEO Arthur W. Zafiropoulo discarded 21,081 shares on Wednesday and 58,919 shares on Thursday at prices ranging from $21.76 to $22.27 per share. Following the recent sales, Mr. Zafiropoulo currently owns 817,468 shares of Ultratech.

Ultratech Inc. (NASDAQ:UTEK), which makes lights and lasers used in the manufacture of semiconductor and nanotechnology devices, faced a shareholder activist campaign earlier this year, as investment manager Neuberger Berman Group criticized the performance of the company. The investment manager waged an activist proxy fight at Ultratech and won two Board seats at the company’s annual meeting of stockholders in July.

In a letter sent to Ultratech shareholders earlier this year, Neuberger Berman Group said: “Given that the stock has remained at approximately $20 for 20 years, why should stockholders trust the same CEO and the same Board of Directors to find the right people and develop winning strategies to improve Ultratech’s performance? They’ve had more than two decades to figure it out and have failed.”

The shares of the maker of lights and lasers for the technology sector have gained 7% year-to-date. Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital held an ownership stake of 3.45 million shares of Ultratech Inc. (NASDAQ:UTEK) at the end of the June quarter.

Chairman of Well-Known Freight Trucking Company Sells Shares

A well-informed insider at J. B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) unloaded some shares last week. James K. Thompson, the Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors, liquidated 5,400 shares on Wednesday at $79.52 apiece. Mr. Thompson currently owns an aggregate of 60,346 shares following the recent sale.

J. B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT), one of the largest surface transportation, delivery, and logistics companies in North America, has seen its market capitalization rise by 11% this year. The well-known freight trucking company reported total operating revenue of $1.69 billion for the third quarter, up from $1.59 billion reported a year earlier. Even so, J. B. Hunt Transport Services reported a drop in third-quarter earnings, to $109.4 million from $115.1 million posted a year prior, as the company struggled with lower customer rates and sluggish demand. David Keidan’s Buckingham Capital Management added an 18,700-share position in J. B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) to its portfolio during the third quarter.

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