Seed Giant Monsanto and Mineral Development Company Witness Intriguing Insider Buying, Plus the Latest Insider Trading Developments at 3 Other Companies

Board Member of Major Insurer Purchases Some Shares

One member of Chubb Ltd (NYSE:CB)’s Board of Directors filed Wednesday to disclose a purchase that occurred at the end of September. Director David H. Sidwell snapped up 830 shares on September 26 at a price tag of $124.90 each. After the not-so-distant purchase, Mr. Sidwell currently holds a total of 7,386 shares.

The former ACE Limited completed the acquisition of Chubb Corporation in mid-January, an acquisition that created a global leader in property and casualty insurance. As a result, the company changed its name from ACE Limited to Chubb Limited, and plans to adopt the Chubb name globally. Analysts at Sandler O’Neill, who have a price target of $145 on Chubb Ltd (NYSE:CB), continue to like the company’s stock potential for several reasons. First of all, both ACE and the old Chubb “had a number of franchise businesses, such as high-net-worth retail, directors and officers insurance, and accident and health insurance, that should generate higher-than-peer returns.” Second of all, the new Chubb represents “one of the largest market-cap insurers,” which implies that the company “will be a natural core holding for most large-cap portfolio managers.” The shares of the Swiss-incorporated global insurance and reinsurance organization are down by 3% in the past three months. Dan Loeb’s Third Point was the owner of 2.35 million shares of Chubb Ltd (NYSE:CB) at the end of the second quarter.

CEO of Low-Priced Mineral Development Company Piles Up Shares

The man at the helm of General Moly Inc. (NYSEMKT:GMO) purchased a few shares (to put it mildly) this week. Bruce D. Hansen, the Chief Executive Officer of General Moly since late-January of 2007, snatched up 40,000 shares on Tuesday at prices that fell in the range of $0.25 to $0.26 per share. Mr. Hansen currently owns 2.76 million shares of General Moly.

General Moly Inc. (NYSEMKT:GMO) is a U.S.-based mineral development company that plans to become the largest pure-play molybdenum producer in the world. The company’s primary asset, its 80%-interest in the Mt. Hope Project, is viewed as one of the largest and highest-grate molybdenum deposits in the world. However, the mix of depressed molybdenum pricing and legal challenges to the company’s water rights has been delaying development at the Mt. Hope Project. Nonetheless, General Moly views the long-term outlook for its business positively despite the current low prices, mainly because of limited supplies of molybdenum, the need for molybdenum in the steel industry, as well as a possible recovery in the oil and gas industry. General Moly’s shares are up by 35% this year. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors added a 53,922-share stake in General Moly Inc. (NYSEMKT:GMO) to its portfolio during the June quarter.

The final page of this article will discuss the fresh insider selling observed at two companies.