Trump Victory Prompts Morgan Stanley (MS) Executives to Jettison Shares Amid Surge in Financial Stocks, Plus Other Noteworthy Insider Trading

CEO of Struggling U.S. Subprime Lender Buys the Dips

The man in charge of OneMain Holdings Inc. (NYSE:OMF) also acquired some shares earlier this week. President and CEO Jay N. Levin snatched up 50,000 shares on Thursday at prices varying from $17.99 to $18.50 per share. Mr. Levin currently holds an ownership stake of 3.08 million shares after the recent purchase.

The purchase comes shortly after the biggest subprime lender in the United States released its third-quarter results, which hit the company’s stock price by nearly 40% on Tuesday. OneMain Holdings Inc. (NYSE:OMF) slashed its full-year 2016 and 2017 guidance for growth in its loan portfolio and its preferred measure of earnings. The company’s top management blamed the increasing competition for loans to borrowers with sub-660 FICO scores for the slowing receivables growth, pointing out that credit card companies have targeted lower-FICO borrowers. The subprime market has been growing rapidly in recent years amid sluggish growth in wages and the loose monetary policy pursued by the U.S. Federal Reserve. OneMain’s top management also blamed the challenging integration of the branch networks of Springleaf and OneMain, which merged in mid-November of 2015. The shares of OneMain are down by 56% since the beginning of the year. Citadel Advisors owns 12,464 shares of OneMain Holdings Inc. (NYSE:OMF) as of September 30.

CFO of Ratio Frequency Solutions Specialist Buys Some Shares

An important member of Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ:QRVO)’s executive team piled up some shares this week as well. Chief Financial Officer Mark J. Murphy bought 10,000 units of common stock on Wednesday at prices that fell in the range of $51.60 to $51.67 per unit. After the recent acquisition, Mr. Murphy currently holds an ownership stake of 65,270 shares.

The aforementioned purchase comes after the radio frequency solutions provider released mixed results for the second quarter of its fiscal year 2017 that ended October 1, as well as released disappointing guidance for the current quarter. Analysts at MKM Partners reiterated their ‘Buy’ rating on Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ:QRVO) but reduced their price target on the stock to $64 from $71, saying that “management likely has little credibility in the eyes of skeptical investors on an ambitious margin improvement plan on the next six quarters.” The company’s fiscal second-quarter revenue grew by 22.1% year-over-year to $864.7 million. Qorvo shares are 1% in the green this year. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management reported owning 1.14 million shares of Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ:QRVO) through the current round of 13F filings.

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