Two Companies Witness Insider Selling after Releasing Strong Results, Plus Insider Buying at Three Other Firms

CIO of Mortgage REIT Buys Voluminous Block of Shares

One of the most important members of Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE:NLY)’s executive team snapped up a sizeable amount of shares last week. Chief Investment Officer David L. Finkelstein bought 100,000 shares on Friday at a price of $10.30 per share, doubling his overall holding to 200,000 shares.

Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE:NLY) operates as a real estate finance company that predominantly invests in various types of Agency mortgage-backed securities and related derivatives to hedge these investments. After the mortgage REIT released third-quarter financial results in line with analysts’ expectations, an analyst at FBR & Co. praised the company for the stable results delivered over the course of the last year. “This is the fifth consecutive quarter of earnings in the $0.30/share range despite a wide range of market conditions over the last several quarters. We believe that this best demonstrates the benefits of the company’s diversified investment portfolio and reinforces our thesis that NLY’s more defensive asset portfolio with a heavier skew toward non-credit/more-liquid agency MBS positions it well to outperform peers,” said an FBR & Co. analyst recently. The mortgage REIT’s shares are 9% in the green this year. Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management reported owning 20,355 shares of Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE:NLY) in its 13F filing for the third quarter.

Board Member of Apparel Licensing and Brand Management Company Buys Shares After Stock Price Plunge

One member of Sequential Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SQBG)’s boardroom acquired a significant block of shares earlier this week. Director Al G. Gossett bought 100,000 shares on Monday at prices varying from $4.29 to $4.50 per share. After the recent purchase, Mr. Gossett currently owns an aggregate of 409,669 shares.

The massive insider purchase comes as the shares of the apparel licensing and brand management company have plunged by a disturbing 37% in the past five days after the release of its third-quarter earnings report. Sequential Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SQBG) reported total revenue of $42.0 million for the third quarter, which rose by 83% year-over-year. Despite reporting better-than-expected revenue, the company cut the full-year earnings guidance, which triggered a massive drop in the share price. Sequential Brands Group, which owns a portfolio of consumer brands in the fashion, home, athletic and lifestyle categories, anticipates net income in the range of $7.7 million-to-$11.0 million, down from the previous guidance range of $12.7 million to $14.6 million. The downward revision of the earnings guidance reflects costs associated with its headquarter lease. The company has lost 43% of its market capitalization since the start of the year. David Keidan’s Buckingham Capital Management had 2.60 million shares of Sequential Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SQBG) in its portfolio at the end of September.

The final page of this article will cover fresh insider selling observed at two other companies.