More Insider Selling at Strong Performing Ethanol Company, Plus 4 Other Notable Insider Transactions

Director at Growing Data Storage Provider Unloads Shares

One member of NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP)’s Board of Directors significantly reduced his ownership stake this week. Board member Robert T. Wall liquidated 22,944 shares on Tuesday at prices varying from $35.32 to $35.61 per share. After the recent sale, Mr. Wall currently holds an ownership stake of 36,048 shares.

The global provider of software, systems and services to manage and store customer data has seen its market capitalization jump by 33% since the start of the year. Earlier this week, analysts at Jefferies raised their price target on NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) to $34 from $29 while maintaining their ‘Hold’ rating on the stock, saying that the data storage service provider was “upbeat and proud of recent accomplishments” at a recently-held investor meeting. NetApp said at the conference that the company represents the second-largest market leader in the all-flash array market, as well as represents the fastest-growing storage area network provider. However, Jefferies analysts say that they “don’t find the valuation particularly compelling and are inclined to look for another entry point.” Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates reported owning around 445,000 shares of NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) during the second-quarter 13F reporting period.

More Insider Selling at Ethanol Company

A Board member of REX American Resources Corp (NYSE:REX) also offloaded a block of shares this week. Lawrence Tomchin discarded 2,000 shares on Monday at an average price of $84.54 per share and 4,000 shares on Wednesday for $84.00 each. After the recent transactions, Mr. Tomchin currently owns 138,380 shares of REX American Resources. This wave of insider selling comes shortly after the company’s founder sold a 13,562-share block last Wednesday.

The shares of the ethanol company are 55% in the green this year. REX American Resources Corp (NYSE:REX)’s net sales for the quarter that ended July 31 totaled $115.7 million, up from $113.5 million reported a year earlier. Meanwhile, ethanol sales jumped to $90.9 million from $87.0 million, reflecting an increase of 3 million gallons sold. However, dried distillers grains sales decreased to $18.9 million from $21.6 million, mainly due to a $34.50 decline in the price per ton sold. The decrease in the selling price is believed to reflect uncertainty around ongoing anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations of U.S. dried distillers grains exports to China conducted by the China Ministry of Commerce. Renaissance Technologies owns 526,400 shares of REX American Resources Corp (NYSE:REX) as of June 30.

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