The Nasdaq 100 ended slightly higher last Friday. However, investors were more interested in some significant insider trades.
When insiders sell their company’s shares, it can mean a few things. It might be a planned sale, or it could suggest that they have concerns about the company’s future or that they think the stock is too expensive. But remember, you shouldn’t base your investment or trading decisions solely on insider sales. At most, it can give some weight to a decision to sell.
Let’s take a look at a couple of recent noteworthy insider sales.
HP
The Trade: Warren E. Buffett, who owns 10% of HP Inc., sold a total of 4,788,472 shares at an average price of $26.98. He made approximately $129.21 million from this sale.
What’s Going On: HP reported earnings that were in line with expectations for the third quarter, but they did lower their earnings outlook for the full year.
What HP Does: HP, previously known as Hewlett-Packard, is a big player in the PC and printing industries. They’ve been focusing on these markets since they split from Hewlett Packard Enterprise in 2015. HP primarily serves the commercial market but also sells consumer devices and printers.
Amazon.com
The Trade: Adam Selipsky, the CEO of Amazon Web Services, sold 1,000 shares of Amazon.com, Inc. at an average price of $135.14. He made about $135,140 by selling these shares.
What’s Going On: Telsey Advisory Group has restated their positive outlook on Amazon.com, giving it an “Outperform” rating and keeping their price target at $160.
What Amazon.com Does: Amazon is a major online store known for selling a wide range of products. It’s one of the biggest players in online shopping, making approximately $386 billion in sales and handling around $578 billion worth of products online in 2021.
Best Buy
The Trade: Todd Hartman, from Best Buy Co., Inc., sold 12,947 shares of the company at an average price of $70.07. He made around $907,317 by selling those shares.
What’s Going On: Best Buy had a strong second quarter, surpassing expectations with its results.
What Best Buy Does: Best Buy is the largest consumer electronics retailer in the United States, with total sales of $46.3 billion in fiscal 2023. They have a significant presence, accounting for about 8.5% of the U.S. market and more than 35% of offline sales, based on calculations and data from CTA and Euromonitor.
Salesforce
The Trade: Marc Benioff, the Chair and CEO of Salesforce, Inc., sold 15,000 shares of the company at an average price of $209.24. He received approximately $3.14 million from the sale.
What’s Happening: Boston Scientific CEO Mike Mahoney laid out his vision for the company’s future at their 2023 Investor Day event, aiming to take it to the “next level” and make it an attractive place to be in the next decade.
What Salesforce Does: Salesforce has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Airkit.AI.
