Shares of Wynn Resorts Limited (WYNN) Jump on Insider Buying; Plus 2 Other Companies With Noteworthy Insider Purchases

MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX) is another company that witnessed hot insider buying activity last week. Director Dan D. Sandman purchased 20,000 shares on Friday at a weighted average price of $31.16 and currently holds an ownership stake of 48,804 shares. The fee-based master limited partnership that owns and operates pipelines and other midstream assets related to the transportation of crude oil and refined products has suffered as a result of the depressed environment in the oil and gas industry this year. The company’s sales and other operating revenue for the first nine months of 2015 declined by $2.0 million year-over-year to $50.2 million, mainly due to decreased crude oil volumes shipped on higher tariff pipelines. Earlier this month, MPLX completed its previously-announced merger with MarkWest Energy Partners (MWE), which is the second-largest processor of natural gas in the nation. In the meantime, MPLX has a very cheap valuation at the moment, if solely relying on its trailing and forward P/E ratios. The MLP has a forward P/E ratio of only 11.90, which is significantly below the ratio for the S&P 500 benchmark. The number of hedge funds invested in the MLP climbed to 13 from nine during the September quarter. Renaissance Technologies, founded by Jim Simons, holds a stake of 322,800 shares in MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX) as of September 30.

Interval Leisure Group Inc. (NASDAQ:IILG) has seen three top executives buy stock so far this month. To start with, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President William L. Harvey purchased 3,500 shares on Monday at a weighted average cost of $14.41, lifting his stake to 142,715 shares. Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jeanette E. Marbert snapped up 3,500 shares on the same day, at a price of $14.26 per share and currently holds 306,935 shares. Last but not least, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer Craig M. Nash bought 7,000 shares on Friday and 28,000 shares on Monday, at prices in the range of $14.05-to-$14.76 per share. Following these purchases, the CEO currently owns a 788,088-share stake.

The increased concerns over terrorism seem to be impacting most travel stocks at the moment, but this provider of lodging and leisure services appears to have a relatively cheap valuation at the moment regardless, with the company having a forward P/E ratio of only 11.06 at the moment. Meanwhile, its third-quarter revenue increased by 18.7% to $174.0 million year-over-year. Although Interval Leisure’s earnings per share decreased slightly year-over-year, analysts believe that the company’s bottom-line growth will stabilize in the upcoming quarters. Wallace Weitz’s Wallace R. Weitz & Co. lifted its stake in Interval Leisure Group Inc. (NASDAQ:IILG) by 20% during the July-to-September period, ending the quarter with 3.01 million shares.

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