Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (SOBI: SS)
Analysing recent insider transactions at Sobi, we believe the recent share price weakness may indeed be an opportunity. We say this because over the last week, four top-level directors have been acquiring Sobi shares at around the SEK 180 - SEK 190 mark, which suggests that they see long-term value at that level. The directors buying include key personnel such as CEO Guido Oelkers (49,000 shares @ SEK 189.86), and CFO Henrik Stenqvist (10,000 shares @ SEK 180.00) – who most likely have an excellent understanding of the company’s future prospects. We see this pattern of director buying at Sobi as a bullish signal.
Evonik Industries AG (EVK: GR)
Evonik Industries is a speciality chemicals company headquartered in Germany. The group operates four key segments including nutrition and care, resource efficiency, performance materials, and services, and its chemical products can be found in a wide variety of end products such as car tires, mattresses, tablets, and animal feed. The stock is listed on the XETRA and currently has a market capitalisation of €12.1 billion.
Evonik shares have fallen over the last two months, after majority shareholder RAG-Stiftung announced in late September that it would sell 16 million shares – around 3.4% of the company’s registered share capital – for approximately 500 million euros, in order to diversify its portfolio. The stock has also been impacted negatively by general market weakness across Europe, and recent broker downgrades from Credit Suisse and Barclays. With the shares falling to levels not seen since late 2016 despite solid Q3 results in early November, could now be a good time to go long?
Looking at recent insider transaction activity, the outlook for Evonik shares looks positive, in our view. This is due to the fact that in the last fortnight, we have observed buying activity from three key directors, including Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board Harald Schwager, and CFO Ute Wolf, who both purchased 10,000 shares. Given that multiple directors are purchasing shares after the recent share price fall, we think the stock could be worth a closer look at current levels.
Westlake Chemical (WLKP:US)
Westlake Chemical is an international manufacturer and marketer of basic chemicals, vinyls, polymers and building products, headquartered in Houston, USA. The group’s products are used in a broad range of industries such as packaging, automotive, construction and refrigerants. The stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and currently has a market capitalisation of $9.2 billion.
