Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) and Antero Resources Corp (AR) Register Sizeable Insider Sales; Plus Insider Buying at Three Other Companies

Independent Oil and Natural Gas Company Registers Massive Insider Sale

Antero Resources Corp (NYSE:AR) has registered striking insider selling activity in the past several trading sessions. Glen C. Warren Jr., President, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary, discarded 800,000 shares on Friday and 200,000 shares on Monday at prices ranging from $27.06 to $28.21 per share, cutting his overall holding to 10.67 million shares.

The shares of the independent oil and natural gas company engaged in the exploration, development and acquisition of natural gas, NGLs and oil properties located in the Appalachian Basin has seen its market cap spike by 26% since the start of the year. The company’s drilling opportunities are focused in the Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale of the Appalachian Basin. In early June, Antero Resources Corp (NYSE:AR) agreed to purchase approximately 55,000 net acres on the core of the Marcellus Shale for $450 million, a transaction set to close during the current quarter. William Michaelcheck’s Mariner Investment Group owns 83,400 shares of Antero Resources Corp (NYSE:AR) as of June 30.

Microsoft’s CFO Jettisons Sizable Block of Shares

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) also recorded a massive insider sale earlier this week. Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood offloaded 120,000 shares on Monday at prices varying from $57.82 to $57.91 per share. After the recent sizable sale, Ms. Hood currently owns 523,425 shares of Microsoft.

LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD), which recently agreed to be bought by Microsoft for $26.2 billion, released a much stronger-than-anticipated second-quarter earnings report. The social networking and enterprise software vendor reported earnings per share of $1.13 on revenue of $932.7 million, easily beating analysts’ expectations of $898.67 million and $1.13. The second-quarter earnings report was released shortly before LinkedIn shareholders are set to vote on selling out to Microsoft, so could shareholders oppose the merger? Analysts believe the $196.00 per share offer would not be reached by LinkedIn until at least 2020 should shareholders veto the merger so, the multi-billion-dollar deal will most likely get approved without strong resistance. Microsoft shares are up by 4% since the start of the year. Donald Yacktman’s Yacktman Asset Management reported owning 12.52 million shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its 13F for the second quarter.

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