Carl Icahn’s buying spree of HAIN shares started on August 30th. In September, his purchases sent the total insider trading in Hain Celestial Group to exceed that of any other company by any other insider. Icahn bought 1.138 million shares at prices between $22.16 and $24.53, with the total value of these purchaes at $26.7 million. So far, this would not have been a market beating investment for outsiders monkeying Carl Icahn.
But let’s look a bit deeper. Icahn waited as long as legally possible before reporting his August 30th transactions. The law mandates that insider purchases must be reported by 10 pm on the second day after the purchases are made. Icahn waited out the 30th of August. Then he waited out the 31st of August. Then he waited out most of the 1 st of September, and managed to report his transactions just before his deadline- past 9 pm on that day. Apparently he did not want to tip off imitators too early. On September 2nd, HAIN opened at $23 and closed the day at $23.40. On September 24th, the stock closed at $24.7- meaning that the stock returned 7.4% if purchased at the open, or 5.6% if purchased at the close. This is fractionally better than the return on S&P 500 index.
From Company’s 10-K:
The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware on May 19, 1993. Our worldwide headquarters office is located at 58 South Service Road, Melville, New York 11747.
The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries manufacture, market, distribute and sell natural and organic products under brand names which are sold as “better-for-you” products, providing consumers with the opportunity to lead “A Healthy Way of LifeTM.” They are a leader in many natural and organic food categories, with such well-known food brands as Earth’s Best® , Celestial Seasonings®, Terra®, Garden of Eatin’®, Sensible Portions®, Rice Dream®, Soy Dream®, Almond Dream®, Imagine®, Westsoy®, The Greek Gods®, Ethnic Gourmet®, Rosetto®, Arrowhead Mills®, MaraNatha®, SunSpire®, Health Valley®, Spectrum Naturals®, Spectrum Essentials®, Lima®, Yves Veggie Cuisine®, DeBoles®, Linda McCartney® (under license) and Daily BreadTM. Their natural personal care products are marketed under the Avalon Organics®, Alba Botanica®, JASON®, Zia®, Queen Helene®, Tushies® and Earth’s Best TenderCare® brands. Their household cleaning products are marketed under the Martha Stewart CleanTM (under license) brand.
They have a minority investment in Hain Pure Protein Corporation (“HPP” or “Hain Pure Protein”), which processes, markets and distributes antibiotic-free chicken and turkey products. They also have an investment in a joint venture in Hong Kong with Hutchison China Meditech Ltd. (“Chi-Med”), a majority owned subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa Limited, a company listed on the Alternative Investment Market, a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, to market and distribute co-branded infant and toddler feeding products and market and distribute selected Hain Celestial brands in China and other markets. They operate in one segment, the manufacturing, distribution, marketing and sale of natural and organic products.
