Insider Buying at 2 Struggling Companies, Plus 3 Stocks With Insider Selling

The markets are off to a roaring start this morning after strong quarterly results out of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), as well as September inflation numbers that are pushing towards the Fed’s goals.

In this daily insider trading article, we’ll take a look at five companies whose insiders reported noteworthy, spur-of-the-moment trades yesterday. They include insider buys at two companies near 52-week lows, and insider selling at three companies enjoying strong years.

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Director of International Speedway Corp (NASDAQ:ISCA) Loads Up On Weakness

J. Hyatt Brown, the Lead Independent Director of International Speedway Corp (NASDAQ:ISCA) acquired 10,000 class A shares on Monday at an average cost of $31.186. Mr. Brown now has indirect ownership, along with his spouse, of 52,402 class A shares and 9,000 class B shares, as well as direct ownership of 897 class A shares.

International Speedway Corp (NASDAQ:ISCA) shares lost over 10% between October 6 and October 13 after the release of the company’s third quarter earnings. Despite solid quarterly results for the motor sports racetrack operator that included profit of $0.03 per share and revenue of $129 million, investors balked at the muted guidance and 5% decline in motor sports admissions revenue. Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron’s Algert Coldiron Investors sold off the 20,063 International Speedway shares that it owned on June 30 during the third quarter.

More Insider Selling at Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR)

Another insider at Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) has sold off some shares as the company’s stock has skyrocketed to 5-year highs in recent weeks. David S. Hendrickson, the company’s VP of Engineering, unloaded 20,000 shares between October 14 and October 17, at an average price of $2.80 per share. Mr. Hendrickson now has direct ownership of 45,663 shares of Aehr Test Systems.

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) shares have surged by over 50% year-to-date, with the latest push coming on September 23 after it released preliminary results for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2017, which showed a surge in quarter-over-quarter revenue, income, and backlog. The company also announced a private placement of $5.9 million in shares on the same day. On October 10, Craig-Hallum initiated coverage of Aehr with a ‘Buy’ rating and $5 price target, suggesting immense upside potential remains. Analyst Christian Schwab believes that the company’s new products have it poised for strong top- and bottom-line growth. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors acquired a position of 12,012 Aehr Test Systems shares during the second quarter.

We’ll check out the latest insider trading activity at three other companies on the next page.

Insider Buying Witnessed at CytoDyn Inc (OTCMKTS:CYDY)

Shares of nano-cap biotech company CytoDyn Inc (OTCMKTS:CYDY) were being bought up by Chief Financial Officer Michael D. Mulholland yesterday. The insider, who also serves as the company’s Treasurer and Corporate Secretary, acquired 11,000 shares of the company at an average price of $0.658. Mr. Mulholland now has direct ownership of 37,043 CytoDyn shares,

The timing of the insider purchase appears to be good, as shares of CytoDyn Inc (OTCMKTS:CYDY) have crumbled to 52-week lows and sit more than 50% off their yearly highs despite favorable progression for the company’s lead candidate PRO 140, for the treatment of HIV. The FDA recently accepted changes to the company’s phase III pivotal trial of the treatment, including a reduction in the amount of patients to be enrolled in the trial to just 30 from 150. CytoDyn estimates the potential addressable market for the treatment in the U.S at over $15 billion. None of the funds that we follow were shareholders of CytoDyn on June 30.

Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX) Insider Sells Small Amount of Shares

Bruce O’Connor, the Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer of Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX) made a small set of insider sales on Monday, selling a total of 1,350 shares from his Street Account. Mr. O’Connor now has direct ownership of 7,415 shares through that account, in addition to 39,558 shares through various other accounts.

Shares of Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX) have gained 27% this year but are 23% off their 2016 high made in early-July. For the first six months of the year, Middlesex Water’s operating income jumped to $18.63 million from $15.92 million a year earlier. A dividend aristocrat, the water and wastewater solutions company currently pays out an annual dividend of $0.80 with a yield of 2.36%. Nine hedge funds in our system owned $34.1 million worth of Middlesex Water Company’s shares on June 30.

CEO of Medley Capital Corp (NYSE:MCC) Continues to Buy Shares

Two weeks after reporting the purchase of over 115,000 shares, Brook Taube, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Medley Capital Corp (NYSE:MCC), along with his twin brother Seth Taube, have reported the acquisition of another 6,450 shares of Medley Capital through two transactions. The shares are indirectly held by Medley Seed Funding LLC, which is controlled by Medley LLC, which in turn is controlled by the two brothers. Medley Seed Funding now holds over 1.31 million shares of Medley Capital, while Brook Taube indirectly owns an additional 190,000 shares in a trust for his family.

Shares of Medley Capital Corp (NYSE:MCC) have been extremely stable for the last month, and offer a dividend yield of 11.40%, despite the business development company cutting its quarterly dividend to $0.22 from $0.30 on August 9. In anticipation of just such a dividend cut, Wells Fargo recommended buying Medley Capital shares on their expected weakness, though the weakness itself never materialized. Shares did have a brief tumble in early-September but quickly recouped all of those losses. Just four of the investment firms in our database were long Medley Capital as of June 30.

Disclosure: None