Insider Selling at Health Insurance Giant Following Share Price Surge
Three different insiders at Aetna Inc. (NYSE:AET) offloaded shares throughout the course of the past week. To begin with, President Karen S. Lynch discarded 45,000 shares on Friday at prices varying from $119.42 to $119.75 per share, cutting her ownership stake to 51,254 shares. Board member Molly J. Coye sold 862 shares in one lot last Wednesday at a price tag of $116.96 per share, cutting her holding to 8,662 shares. Last but not least, Francis S. Soistman Jr., Executive Vice President of Government Services Segment at Aetna since mid-June 2013, liquidated 9,150 shares last Monday at prices ranging from $109.71 to $110.00 per share. After the not-so-distant sale, Mr. Soistman currently holds an aggregate of 12,367 shares.
The health insurance giant agreed to acquire Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) for around $37 billion in July 2015. Aetna Inc. (NYSE:AET), one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, has seen its market value jump by 13% in the past five trading sessions after Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election. Analysts believe president-elect Donald Trump’s victory could lead to higher odds for regulatory approval of the multi-billion-dollar merger. “We believe that the change in administration could have an impact on the antitrust review of the merger. In particular, a Republican-led DOJ and FTC could view the merger more favorably and might be more willing to approve the transaction based on the concessions and geographic divestitures offered by the two companies,” said one Argus analyst recently. Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management added a 1.82 million-share stake in Aetna Inc. (NYSE:AET) to its portfolio during the previous quarter.
Follow Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET)
Follow Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET)
Mini-Cluster of Insider Selling at Strong Performing Orthodontic-Device Maker
Several insiders at Align Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) also unloaded a great deal of shares last week. Joseph S. Lacob, who has been serving on the company’s Board of Directors for numerous years, liquidated 50,000 shares on Friday and 12,479 shares on Monday at prices varying from $91.00 to $91.85 per share, all of which were held in a trust fund that currently owns an aggregate 438,509 shares. Gregory J. Santora, yet another member of the company’s boardroom, discarded 10,700 shares on Friday at a weighted average price of $91.51 per share. The shares were held in a trust fund that owns 21,700 shares after the recent sale.
The medical device company generated nearly 95% of 2015 net revenues from selling the Invisalign System, a very efficient approach to straightening teeth by utilizing a custom-made series of aligners as the main method for treating malocclusion. Align Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) has seen its market capitalization skyrocket by 42% since the beginning of the year. Just recently, the orthodontic-device maker reported third-quarter revenues of $278.6 million, which increased by 34.2% year-over-year. The company’s solid revenue growth reflected record Invisalign case volume, which was up 20.5% year-on-year to due growth across all customer channels and geographies, as well as strong continued demand for its iTero scanners. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies LLC was the owner of 944,200 shares at the end of September.
Follow Align Technology Inc (NASDAQ:ALGN)
Follow Align Technology Inc (NASDAQ:ALGN)
Disclosure: None