The CEO’s of Zendesk Inc. (ZEN) and Oasis Petroleum Inc. (OAS) Discard Shares, Plus Insider Buying at 3 Other Companies

Two Insiders of Struggling Take-And-Bake Pizza Company Purchase Shares

Papa Murphy’s Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FRSH) was yet another company that had two corporate insiders pile up more shares last week. To start with, Board member L. David Mounts bought 50,000 shares on Wednesday at prices that fell between $5.16 and $5.45 per share, of which 47,000 shares are held in a trust fund that currently holds 90,082 shares. The remaining 3,000 shares are owned by Mr. Mounts’ children. The Board member also holds a direct ownership stake of 7,944 shares. Chief Financial Officer Mark Edward Hutchens acquired 20,000 shares last Monday at a weighted average price of $5.31 per share, lifting his ownership to 26,017 shares.

The franchisor and operator of the Take “N” Bake pizza chain has seen the value of its shares plummet by 46% since the start of 2016. Papa Murphy’s Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FRSH) had total revenue of $29.9 million for the three months ended June 27, up by 2.7% year-over-year. However, domestic comparable-store sales decreased by 4.0% year-over-year, reflecting an increasingly competitive landscape, including more aggressive value offerings across pizza and other food service industries, as well as the impact of the company’s efforts to promote online ordering. Archon Capital Management, run by Constantinos J. Chrisofilis, has 407,500 shares of Papa Murphy’s Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FRSH) in its portfolio as of June 30.

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Notable Insider Buying Registered at Battered Advertising Company

Two members of MDC Partners Inc. (NASDAQ:MDCA)’s executive team purchased shares of their company this past week. Chairman and CEO Scott Kauffman bought 10,000 Class A shares on Friday for $13.27 each, boosting his stake to 340,984 shares. Mitchell S. Gendel, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, purchased 1,000 Class A shares last Monday at $13.75 apiece. Following the recent purchase, Mr. Gendel currently owns 174,668 Class A shares.

The shares of the advertising and marketing holding company are down by 36% since the start of the year. MDC Partners Inc. (NASDAQ:MDCA)’s discouraging performance predominantly reflects disappointing financial results, an ongoing SEC investigation into founder Miles Nadal’s expenses, and the company’s accounting practices. The owner of ad agencies such as Crispin Porter+Bogusky and 72andSunny recently said its weak second quarter earnings report reflects some pullback from financial services clients and a delay between winning accounts and booking actual revenue. Richard Barrera’s Roystone Capital Partners was the owner of 2.39 million shares of MDC Partners Inc. (NASDAQ:MDCA) at the end June.

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The final page of this article will discuss fresh insider selling registered at two other companies.