Recent Insider Buying at Navistar, Walgreen (NAV, OPK, WAG)

Insiders may sell shares for any number of reasons, but conventional wisdom is that insiders really only buy shares of a company for one reason -- they believe the stock price will move higher and they want to profit from it. Pullbacks and sell-offs provide a perfect opportunity for investors who have faith in a company to snap up shares. Here are some stocks that have seen insider buying recently.

Navistar

One director and Carl Icahn, a beneficial (10 percent) owner, bought more than 2.1 million shares combined in mid-July. That was worth more than $69.7 million. At about that time, Navistar (NYSE: NAV) amended its shareholder rights plan to avoid a proxy fight with Icahn, and it launched its International Workstar line.

The market capitalization is more than $2 billion and the return on equity is more than 118 percent. Shares of this truck and RV maker are up less than 10 percent since mid-June. The stock has outperformed competitor PACCAR (NASDAQ: PCAR) and the broader markets over the past six months.

See also: MHR and Icahn to Not Run Proxy Contest at 2014 Annual Meeting

Opko Health

The chairman continues to buy batches of shares periodically, as he has done for more than a year. He scooped up more than 125,000 Opko Health (NYSE: OPK) shares in the past two weeks in five batches. The total price of those purchases was more than $918,000.

This Miami-based health care company has a market cap of more than $2 billion, and short interest is about 20 percent of its float. The share price is up more than 10 percent in the past month and approaching the 52-week high. Over the past six months, the stock has outperformed competitors such as Allergan (NYSE: AGN).

Walgreen

One director recently bought more than 34,000 shares, worth more than $1.5 million, of this drugstore operator, after buying more than $4 million in shares back in April. The most recent purchase followed a more then 14 percent boost in Walgreen's (NYSE: WAG) dividend.

The suburban Chicago-based company has a market cap of less than $48 billion. Its dividend yield is about 2.6 percent. The share price has recovered from a 13 percent pullback in June. The stock has outperformed CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) and Walmart (NYSE: WMT) over the past six months.

ETFs and Alternatives

Investors interested in exchange traded funds focused on insider sentiment might want to consider the following trades.

 

• Direxion All Cap Insider Sentiment Shares (NYSE: KNOW) is up more than 18 percent year-to-date.
• Guggenheim Insider Sentiment (NYSE: NFO) is up almost 20 percent year-to-date.

 

Traders may prefer to consider these alternatives to some of the stocks listed above:

 

• Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK) is more than 26 percent higher year-to-date.
• Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) is more than 64 percent higher year-to-date.
• Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) is about 115 percent higher year-to-date.
  

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