CEO of Struggling U.S. Footwear Maker Buys Half a Million Shares, Board Member at Home Depot Inc. (HD) Buys Shares, Plus Other Insider Trading Activity

Board Member at Strong Performing Home Improvement Retailer Buys Shares

One member of Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD)’s boardroom bought a sizeable block of shares earlier this week. Board member Mark Vadon, one of the leading internet retailing entrepreneurs in the United States, snatched up 15,000 shares on Tuesday at a price tag of $129.87 each. Following the recent purchase, Mr. Vadon currently owns an aggregate of 31,095 shares.

The shares of the home improvement retailer are 2% in the red this year. While several other home improvement suppliers have missed revenue expectations recently, Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) delivered solid numbers for its third fiscal quarter of 2016. One analyst from Piper Jaffray found an explanation to Home Depot’s strong performance in the location of its stores. “Home Depot tends to be more centrally located in metropolitan markets and that’s where we think you have older housing stock where a lot of the renovation activity is taking place,” said a Piper Jaffray analyst in a recent note. Home Depot recorded net sales of $23.2 billion for the three months that ended October 30, up from $21.8 billion reported for the same period of the previous year. The home improvement retailer has received more attention from the hedge fund industry, as the number of funds from our system with stakes in Home Depot increased to 72 from 67 during the September quarter. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management was the owner of 8.48 million shares of Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) at the end of the September.

Chairman at Global Licensor of Brands Purchases Nearly $1 Million Worth of Shares

An influential member of Cherokee Inc. (NASDAQ:CHKE)’s Board of Directors also purchased a great deal of shares this week. Jess M. Ravich, Chairman of the company’s Board since January 2011 and Board member since May 1995, added 101,602 units of common stock to his holding on Tuesday at a price of $9.50 per unit. Following the recent purchase, Mr. Ravich currently holds an ownership stake of 341,848 shares.

The global licensor of style focused lifestyle brands for apparel, footwear, home products and accessories has seen the value of its stock plunge by 39% since the start of the year. Earlier this week, Cherokee Inc. (NASDAQ:CHKE) agreed to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of footwear company Hi-Tech Sports International Holdings B.V. for a cash consideration of around $95.8 million. Cherokee also inked agreements to sell certain assets related to Hi-Tech’s wholesale operations to new operating partners. As part of the deal, the new operating partners entered or will enter into license agreements with Cherokee, pursuant to which each operating partner will pay royalties for the future use of certain Hi-Tech intellectual property. Jeffrey Bronchick’s Cove Street Capital reported ownership of 1.72 million shares of Cherokee Inc. (NASDAQ:CHKE) in its 13F filing for the third quarter.

The last page of this article will focus on fresh insider selling observed at two other companies.