Insiders Unload Shares of TRACON Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TCON), Concho Resources Inc. (CXO), and Willamette Valley Vineyards Inc. (WVVI)

We can now move on to Concho Resources Inc. (NYSE:CXO), which had one of its directors sell shares last Thursday. Tucker S. Bridwell sold 2,000 shares for $107.29 each and reduced his holding to 17,473 shares. Surprisingly, the stock of the independent oil and natural gas is over 4% in green so far this year, but the recent drop of the markets had a severe impact on the stock even though it managed to bounce back quickly. The growing concerns about the global economic slowdown, the oil supply glut and China’s economic pullback in particular might put more downward pressure on oil prices in the short-term, so the outlook on the industry Concho operates in is not very bright at the moment. Therefore, it might be the case that the aforementioned director realizes this fact and attempts to cash out his stake. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group is by far the largest shareholder of Concho Resources Inc. (NYSE:CXO) within our database, holding 2.36 million shares.

Lastly, let’s take a quick look at the insider selling activity at Willamette Valley Vineyards Inc. (NASDAQ:WVVI), a producer and marketer of wines. One of the company’s directors, James L. Ellis, offloaded 1,000 shares at $6.80 apiece, remaining with a 48,300-share position. Even though James Ellis retired from his full-time duties at the company back in 2009, he continues to work part-time on some projects and is still familiar with the company’s operations, activities and development plans. The stock of Willamette Valley Vineyards has delivered a great performance this year, returning nearly 15% year-to-date, despite a slump in August triggered by the broader market decline. The company recently conducted a federal Regulation A public stock offering in order to raise capital for financing two planned boutique wineries. The company offered preferred stock, providing wine enthusiasts special winery access and preferred pricing on wines, as well as a cumulative 5.3% dividend yield at its initial $3.15 share price. Interestingly, Willamette Valley Vineyards created its original winery in 1989 by conducting a self-underwritten public offering under the Federal Regulation A, while the winery was admitted to the NASDAQ Stock Market in 1994. Jim Simons‘ Renaissance Technologies owns 21,700 shares of Willamette Valley Vineyards Inc. (NASDAQ:WVVI) as of June 30.

Disclosure: None