Three Stocks Near 52-Week Highs with Strong Insider Selling; Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) Among Them

Boston Scientific Corporation Registered Increased Insider Selling Amid Strong Performance

Although Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) had three different executives sell shares this week, two of those executives sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans. So let’s have a brief look at the spur-of-the-moment insider selling only. Joseph M. Fitzgerald, Executive Vice President and President of Rhythm Management, unloaded 79,960 shares on Tuesday at prices that fell between $21.80 and $21.84 per share, cutting his direct ownership to 92,020 shares.

The shares of the medical-technology maker recently reached their highest level in ten years, after releasing a stronger-than-expected earnings report. The stock is up 18% year-to-date and trades slightly below its 52-week high of $22.42 reached last week. Boston Scientific Corporation’s net sales for the first quarter increased $196 million, or 11% year-on-year, to $1.96 billion, mainly due to a strong cardiovascular business and the acquisition of the men’s health and prostate health businesses from Endo International plc during the third quarter of 2015. Soon after the release of the first-quarter earnings report, analysts at Jefferies increased the price target on Boston Scientific to $21 from $19 and reiterated the ‘Hold’ rating, saying that “what keeps us at bay is simply valuation; at 18x 2017, shares seem fully valued”. The company also raised its full-year revenue guidance to the range of $8.08 billion-to-$8.23 billion from the previous range of $7.90 billion-to-$8.10 billion.

The number of hedge funds from our system with stakes in the medical-technology maker dropped to 33 from 37 during the December quarter. David Keidan’s Buckingham Capital Management reported ownership of 647,088 shares of Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) through the latest round of 13Fs.

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