Insiders at Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) Buy Shares on the Dip; Four Other Companies See Notable Insider Transactions

CEO of Struggling U.S. Bond Insurer Purchases More Shares

To begin with, the man at the helm of Ambac Financial Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AMBC) purchased several blocks of shares in the past several trading sessions. Nader Tavakoli, the Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. bond insurer, purchased 2,100 shares on Friday for $17.92 each, 1,200 shares on Monday at $17.97 apiece and 8,700 shares on Tuesday at a price of $18.11 per share. After the recent string of purchases, Mr. Tavakoli currently owns 266,742 shares.

Ambac Financial Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AMBC) has been recently pressured by shareholder Joseph Pirinea to hire an investment bank to review strategic alternatives. The review could include the potential sale of the company’s core business, as well as share buybacks and the payment of “substantial liquidating dividends” to shareholders. The shareholder already sued the U.S. bond insurer over its exposure to approximately $2.5 billion of debt issued by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Ambac Financial Group was accused of making “numerous materially false and misleading statements” and omitting material facts related to its losses and loss exposure on its public finance bond portfolio that includes $2.5 billion in Puerto Rican bonds. The U.S. bond insurer has seen the value of its shares gain 34% since the start of the year. Royce & Associates, founded by Chuck Royce, reported ownership of 393,088 shares of Ambac Financial Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AMBC) in its 13F filing for the June quarter.

Board Member of Provider of Tax Preparation Services Buys Shares

A member of Liberty Tax Inc. (NASDAQ:TAX)’s Board of Directors also recently increased his ownership of company stock. Board member Robert M. Howard snapped up 10,000 Class A shares on Friday at a weighted average price of $12.66 per share. A total of 938 restricted stock units, which were granted to the Board member in September of 2015, vested on Monday. Following these transactions, Mr. Howard currently owns 60,938 Class A shares.

The provider of tax preparation services in the United States and Canada has seen its market value plunge by 45% since the start of 2016. Liberty Tax Inc. (NASDAQ:TAX) reported revenues of $7.1 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2017 that ended July 31, down from $7.5 million posted in the same period of the prior year. In early September, the company’s Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, which equates to an annual dividend yield of 4.97%. There were a total of seven hedge funds followed by Insider Monkey with long positions in Liberty Tax at the end of June, up from four recorded at the end of March. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies LLC added an 80,700-share stake in Liberty Tax Inc. (NASDAQ:TAX) to its portfolio of holdings during the April-to-June quarter.

The final page of this article discusses notable insider selling registered at two other companies.