Insiders Have Bought Pepsi, Cheesecake Factory, and More

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) has also had a Board member buy shares: 20,000 of them at prices of around $33 and $34. The $68 billion market cap biotechnology company experienced double-digit growth rates on both top and bottom lines in its most recent quarter compared to the same period in the previous year. Since the beginning of March 2012 the stock price has been consistently rising and has nearly doubled. This has brought its earnings multiples above those of similar companies, though Gilead’s growth rates have also been higher than its peers and the gap does narrow considerably when we look at forward estimates.

A member of Terex Corporation (NYSE:TEX)’s Board of Directors added over 3,500 shares in late February at an average price of $33.10. Terex provides work platforms (including cranes) and construction machinery. As a result the stock price is very sensitive to movements in broader market indices, and its beta is 3.6. Terex is another growth story: sales growth has been strong and earnings per share came in at 93 cents for 2012 after having been negative only two years earlier. The company did miss the Street’s earnings expectations in the fourth quarter of the year, and the current price does depend on continued earnings growth.

Richard Perlman, executive chairman of Examworks Group, Inc. (NYSE:EXAM), a $520 million market cap company which investigates insurance claims, purchased more than 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in early March through his Roth IRA. When we looked at the company we noticed that revenue growth rates have been slowing down and- until the most recent quarterly report- net losses had not been showing much of an improvement. Examworks is a popular short target, with 15% of the outstanding shares held short despite a significant cash hoard.

Disclosure: I own no shares of any stocks mentioned in this article.