With the broader indices continuing to reach new multi-year highs here in March, bulls and bears alike are providing an abundance of opinions on where the market is heading next. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached three successive all-time highs during the week of March 4, and the S&P 500 is approaching multi-year highs as well.
Truth be told, timing the market is a difficult task, and one that very few people have done with consistent success. I dedicate my own personal time to finding individual company-specific stories where I believe the most money can be made. In particular, a compelling fundamental story combined with recent insider buying often translates into a formula for investing success.
An insider can be defined as any officer or director of a publicly traded company. While there are multiple reasons for insiders to sell, insider buying takes place for only one reason: conviction that a stock price is going higher.
Here are three large insider purchases that caught my eye in recent days:
The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)
On Feb. 20, The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) released Q4 earnings of $0.51 per share, lower than analysts’ $0.52 estimate. Revenue came in at $464.7 million, within close distance to consensus of $468.5 million.
Despite the minor earnings and revenue shortfall, same-store sales increased 0.9% at Cheesecake Factory and Grand Lux Cafe locations. Excluding the impact of Hurricane Sandy, comparable sales actually increased 1.5% during the calendar fourth quarter.
In other news, management announced a licensing agreement with a Latin American restaurant operator to open a minimum of 8 restaurants over a 12-year period. The first restaurant is opening in Mexico City by early 2014. Here in the United States, management plans to open between 8 and 10 new restaurants this year.
Business appears to be strong at The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE), and recent insider purchases support the optimism. Board member Herbert Simon, chairman of real estate giant Simon Property Group, purchased 20,000 shares of stock at approximately $34.92 per share. The total transaction value amounted to $698,000 when the stock was bought on March 1.
Board member David B. Pittaway also purchased 1,000 shares of stock on March 1, bringing the total for insider purchases to 21,000 shares. Pittaway is a managing director at a New York based private equity firm.
In reference to the restaurant industry as a whole, management has also stated they expect food inflation to increase between 3% and 5% during the fiscal 2013 year.
LogMeIn Inc (NASDAQ:LOGM)
LogMeIn provides web-based services for remote computer access, device management, customer service, and collaboration to both consumers and small and medium-size businesses (description from company website).
On Feb. 14, LogMeIn Inc (NASDAQ:LOGM) fourth quarter earnings-per-share and revenue that beat analysts’ expectations. The company earned $0.24 per share vs. $0.18 consensus, while revenue came in at $37 million vs. an estimated $36.7 million. However, shares got crushed in the after-hours session when management announced a first quarter 2013 guidance cut.
LogMeIn Inc (NASDAQ:LOGM) provided guidance of $0.09 to $0.10 per share for Q1, compared to a forecasted $0.18. Shares fell precipitously on the news, closing at $23.66 on Feb. 14 and falling nearly 30% to $16.65 the following day. A series of analyst downgrades from Wall Street firms also contributed to the downside pressure.
