Six Years After Crackdown, U.S. Set for Another Insider Trading Trial (Bloomberg)
Six years after his case was hailed as the centerpiece of an insider-trading crackdown against SAC Capital Advisors LP, prosecutors said Wednesday they’re ready to take a former fund manager to trial, just weeks after a federal judge tossed his guilty plea. Richard S. Lee pleaded guilty in July 2013, days before then-U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara unveiled a sweeping indictment that alleged SAC Capital orchestrated a massive insider-trading scheme. Lee was one of at least eight SAC fund managers or analysts who were charged criminally in the government’s attack on illicit trading.
In First, Singapore Jails ‘Front-Runners’ for Insider Trading (Reuters)
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore convicted three people for “front-running” under insider trading laws on Wednesday, the central bank said, in the first case of its kind in the city-state. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said Leong Chee Wai, E Seck Peng Simon and Toh Chew Leong were convicted and sentenced to 36 months, 30 months and 20 months in prison. “This is the first case of front-running prosecuted as an insider trading offense in Singapore, which carries a more severe penalty,” the MAS said in a statement.
Insider Activity: Thor Industries (THO) Board Member Buys $202k in Stock (Investors Observer)
James L Ziemer, a member of the board of directors at Thor Industries (THO), bought 3,545 shares of the company’s common stock on Jul 8. At $57.23 per share, Ziemer paid a total of $202,880 for the new shares.
United States: Southern District Of New York Vacates Insider Trading Guilty Plea Based On Insufficient Personal Benefit Evidence Under United States v. Newman (Mondaq.com)
On June 21, 2019, in United States v. Lee,1 Judge Paul G. Gardephe of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an order vacating the guilty plea of a former investment portfolio analyst, Richard Lee, to charges of insider trading based on confidential information obtained from an investment research firm that, in turn, received the information from company insiders. Judge Gardephe explained that, after Lee’s guilty plea in 2013, the Second Circuit clarified in United States v. Newman that a remote tippee such as Lee (that is, someone multiple steps removed for the source, or tipper, of the confidential information) only could be held liable for insider trading if (a) the tipper received a “personal benefit” for disclosing the confidential information and (b) the defendant knew that the information was confidential and the tipper received a personal benefit.
Wednesday 7/10 Insider Buying Report: THO, CLDB (Nasdaq.com)
At Thor Industries, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Monday, Director James L. Ziemer purchased 3,545 shares of THO, at a cost of $57.23 each, for a total investment of $202,880. Thor Industries is trading up about 0.6% on the day Wednesday. Before this latest buy, Ziemer made one other buy in the past twelve months, purchasing $408,700 shares for a cost of $81.74 each. And on Friday, Director Timothy K. Woofter bought $1,500 worth of Cortland Bancorp, buying 63 shares at a cost of $23.89 each. Before this latest buy, Woofter purchased CLDB at 8 other times during the past year, for a total cost of $13,454 at an average of $22.44 per share. Cortland Bancorp is trading trading flat on the day Wednesday.
A Major Shareholder at Cracker Barrel (NASDAQ: CBRL) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Today, a Major Shareholder at Cracker Barrel (CBRL), Sardar Biglari, sold shares of CBRL for $25.72M. Based on Cracker Barrel’s latest earnings report for the quarter ending April 30, the company posted quarterly revenue of $740 million and quarterly net profit of $50.41 million. In comparison, last year the company earned revenue of $721 million and had a net profit of $48.75 million. CBRL’s market cap is $4.13B and the company has a P/E ratio of 18.81. Currently, Cracker Barrel has an average volume of 526.7K.
