According to the Insider Cluster Buys Screen, a Premium feature of Gurus, five stocks with high number of unique insider buys during the past month include German American Bancorp Inc. (GABC, Financial), Simon Property Group Inc. (SPG, Financial), Partners Bancorp (PTRS, Financial), Ames National Corp. (ATLO, Financial) and Acumen Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ABOS, Financial).
Legendary Fidelity Magellan Fund manager Peter Lynch said that while company insiders may sell shares for several reasons, board members and directors buy shares for a single reason: They believe their company stock is due to increase in value. GuruFocus’ research articles further suggest that stocks with multiple insider buys over the past three months signal gains to come.
As such, investors may find opportunities in companies in which multiple insiders bought shares during the past month. GuruFocus’ Insider Cluster Buys page tracks both the number of insider buys and the number of unique insider buys: While the “number of insider buys” column tracks the total number of transactions among company directors and C-level employees, the “number of unique insider buys” column counts each insider just once, regardless of the number of transactions.
German American Bancorp
Eight insiders purchased shares of German American Bancorp (GABC, Financial) over the past month. The total number of shares purchased is 3,951.
Shares of the Jasper, Indiana-based bank traded around $37.22, showing that the stock is fairly valued based on Tuesday’s price-to-GF Value ratio of 0.97.
GuruFocus ranks the bank’s profitability 6 out of 10 on the back of a high Piotroski F-score of 7 and a 4.5-star business predictability rank despite profit margins outperforming just over 70% of global competitors.
Gurus with holdings in German American Bancorp include Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio)’s Royce Investment Partners and Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio)’ Renaissance Technologies.
Simon Property Group
Eight insiders made 10 transactions in Simon Property Group (SPG, Financial) during the past month. The total number of shares purchased is 2,082.
Shares of the Indianapolis-based REIT traded around $125.66, showing that the stock is modestly overvalued based on Tuesday’s price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.11.
GuruFocus ranks the REIT’s financial strength 3 out of 10 on several warning signs, which include a weak Altman Z-score of 0.86 and an interest coverage ratio that underperforms more than 60% of global competitors.
Gurus with large holdings in Simon include the Parnassus Endeavor Fund (Trades, Portfolio), the Smead Value Fund (Trades, Portfolio) and Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio).
Partners Bancorp
Eight insiders made 10 transactions in Partners Bancorp (PTRS, Financial) during the past month. The total number of shares purchased is 22,523.
Shares of the Salisbury, Maryland-based bank traded around $9, showing that the stock is modestly overvalued based on Tuesday’s price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.28.
GuruFocus ranks the bank’s financial strength 3 out of 10: Although the company has a solid Piotroski F-score of 5, Partners’ equity-to-asset ratio of 0.09 underperforms more than half of global competitors.
Ames National
Seven insiders made nine transactions in Ames National (ATLO, Financial) during the past month. The total number of shares purchased is 4,250.
According to GuruFocus, the Ames, Iowa-based bank has several positive investing signs, which include a five-star business predictability rank, a high Piotroski F-score of 7 and a net profit margin that outperforms more than 76% of global competitors.
Acumen Pharmaceuticals
Six insiders made seven transactions in Acumen Pharmaceuticals (ABOS, Financial) during the past month. The total number of shares purchased is 3,741,250.
The Livermore, California-based biotech company operates clinical trials for the development of a novel disease-modifying approach to target a possible source of Alzheimer’s. According to GuruFocus, the company has no long-term debt.
