Insiders Showing Confidence in eHealth Inc. (EHTH), Delta Air (DAL), and WisdomTree (WETF), While CEO’s Sold Shares of These 2 Companies

Insider purchases completed by famous CEOs and well-known executives usually receive the most attention from media and investors, but even individual purchases made by such top-tier executives may not be as informative as clusters of insider buying involving three or more insiders. Hence, retail investors seeking to trade on insider trading data should look for clusters of insider buying. Of course, these clusters are no common event, but they do occur once in a while.

Insider Monkey reveals such collections of insider buying in our daily insider trading articles whenever possible, though there haven’t been many companies with such robust insider buying action over the past several weeks. With U.S. equities heading towards all-time highs and the kick-off of the second quarter earnings season, insider buying has been somewhat silent of late. But why would anyone bother to keep track of insider buying at all, even clusters of buying? The simple answer is that corporate insiders know a lot more about their company’s prospects and daily developments than anyone else, so investors would be wise to keep a close eye on how insiders are trading their company’s shares in general. That said, the following article will discuss a set of noteworthy insider purchases and sales reported with the SEC on Thursday.

Academic research has shown that certain insider purchases historically outperformed the market by an average of seven percentage points per year. This effect is more pronounced in small-cap stocks. Another exception is the small-cap stock picks of hedge funds. Our research has shown that imitating the 15 most popular small-cap stocks among hedge funds outperformed the market by nearly a percentage point per month between 1999 and 2012 (read more details here).

Mini-Cluster of Insider Buying at Leading Private Health Insurance Exchange

eHealth Inc. (NASDAQ:EHTH) witnessed a mini-cluster of insider buying earlier this week, with two different insiders purchasing sizable blocks of shares. Chief Executive Officer Scott N. Flanders purchased 73,000 shares on Tuesday, 38,000 shares on Wednesday, and 6,000 shares on Thursday at prices ranging from $8.99 to $9.50 per share, boosting his overall holding to 262,406 shares. Michael Goldberg, Board member since June 1999, snatched up 25,000 shares on Tuesday at a weighted average price of $9.28 per share, all of which are held by the Michael D. Goldberg Family Trust that currently owns 44,419 shares. Mr. Goldberg also holds a direct ownership stake of 58,302 shares.

It appears that the voluminous insider buying at the leading private online source of health insurance for individuals, families and small businesses has sent the company’s stock up by approximately 10% in today’s trading session. eHealth shares are down by a disturbing 26% in the past month, reflecting the company’s seemingly disappointing second quarter earnings report. eHealth Inc. (NASDAQ:EHTH) suspended its 2016 financial guidance, citing its recent leadership overhaul and a planned review of the company’s business. The shares of the nation’s largest private health insurance exchange are up by a little less than 1% year-to-date. Radix Partners, run by Joshua Packwood and Schuster Tanger, acquired a new stake 24,577 shares of eHealth Inc. (NASDAQ:EHTH) during the second quarter.

The second page of this article discusses the fresh insider buying registered at two companies, while the final page of the article discusses the noteworthy insider selling at two other companies.

Massive Insider Purchase of ETF Specialist’s Shares

WisdomTree Investments Inc. (NASDAQ:WETF) was another company that registered a massive insider purchase this week. Board member Anthony Bossone acquired a block of 50,000 shares on Tuesday at an average price of $9.90 per share, which lifted his ownership to 162,972 shares. Mr. Bossone’s ownership stake includes restricted stock awards totaling 9,487 shares.

The New York-headquartered asset manager which specializes in exchange-traded funds has lost 33% of its market value since the start of 2016. WisdomTree Investments Inc. (NASDAQ:WETF) provides exchange-traded products covering equity, fixed income, currency, alternative, and commodity asset classes. The eighth-largest ETP sponsor in the world based on assets under management had outflows of $5.4 billion in the first quarter, mainly reflecting negative sentiment to its two largest exposures: the company’s Europe- and Japan-focused ETFs. The company’s U.S.-listed ETF assets under management totaled $38.0 billion at the end of June, down by 26.3% compared to the figure recorded at the end of December. This decrease reflects $10.3 billion of net outflows and $3.5 billion of negative market movement. Royce & Associates, founded by Chuck Royce, was the owner of 2.18 million shares of WisdomTree Investments Inc. (NASDAQ:WETF) at the end of the first quarter.

More Insider Buying at Struggling U.S. Airline

Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL) also saw a member of its Board purchase shares earlier this week. Board member George N. Mattson snapped up 10,000 shares on Wednesday at prices between $36.47 and $36.50 per share, of which 5,000 shares are owned by a limited liability company controlled by Mr. Mattson. After the recent transactions, the Board member currently holds a direct ownership stake of 54,750 shares.

The second-largest U.S. airline by traffic has seen its market cap plunge by 26% since the beginning of the year. Just recently, Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL) revealed that its passenger unit revenue, an important metric in the airline industry, declined by 7% in July. However, the carrier is said to be on track to stop its months-long decline in passenger unit revenue and increase this highly-scrutinized measure by the end of the year or the first half of 2017. Connecticut-based Columbus Circle Investors reported ownership of 2.55 million shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL) in its 13F for the June quarter.

The final page of this article will discuss the recent insider selling registered at two other companies.

CEO of Hospice and Palliative Care Services Provider Discards Shares

The man in charge of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) for more than 15 years jettisoned a massive block of shares this week. President and CEO Kevin J. McNamara discarded 18,000 shares on Wednesday at a price tag of $144.87 each. Following the recent sale, Mr. McNamara currently owns 163,266 shares.

Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE), which offers hospice care through its VITAS Healthcare subsidiary, as well as plumbing, drain cleaning, water restoration, and other related services through its Roto-Rooter subsidiary, has seen the value of its shares decline by 3% since the start of the year. The company’s second quarter service revenue and sales were $390.41 million, up from $381.92 million posted for the same period of the prior year. The increase was driven by a 5.9% increase at Roto-Rooter and a 0.8% increase at VITAS. Roto-Rooter revenue accounted for approximately 29% of the company’s top-line figure during the quarter. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management owns almost 950,000 shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) as of the end of June.

The CEO of Knoll Sells Huge Block of Shares

Knoll Inc. (NYSE:KNL) also had its most influential and informed executive offload shares earlier this week. CEO Andrew B. Cogan unloaded 55,054 shares on Tuesday at prices of between $25.15 and $25.52 per share, cutting his overall holding to 530,212 shares.

The designer and manufacturer of furnishings and accessories, textiles, fine leathers, and designer felt for the workplace and home has seen its market value jump by 36% since January. Knoll Inc. (NYSE:KNL) reported net sales of $294.7 million for the second quarter, up by an impressive 9.7% year-over-year, which followed the company’s top-line increasing by 6.8% year-over-year in the first quarter. Knoll’s second quarter net income was $21.3 million, up from $17.2 million reported a year earlier. Adage Capital Management, founded by Phillip Gross and Robert Atchinson, had 1.82 million shares of Knoll Inc. (NYSE:KNL) among its holdings at the end of March.

Disclosure: None