Biotechs Highlight 6 Stocks Insiders Are Buying Now

Biotech companies saw the most notable insider purchases of the past week, including at the latest of the recent handful of biotech initial public offerings. It turns out that beneficial owners were behind most of those purchases.

A trucking company facing headwinds and a recently spun-off land developer also tempted insiders to scoop up shares, and a Mexican billionaire continued to build a stake in an energy stock. Let’s take a quick look at these transactions.

Is Insider Buying Important?

A well-known adage reminds us that corporate insiders and 10% owners really only buy shares of a company because they believe the stock price will rise and they want to profit from it. Thus, insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors. This is all the more so during times of uncertainty in the markets, and even when markets are near all-time highs.

The earnings-reporting season is still underway, so many insiders are prohibited from buying or selling shares. Below are some of the more notable insider purchases that were reported in the past week, starting with the largest and most prominent.

Aardvark Therapeutics

• Buyer(s): two beneficial owners and two officers
• Total shares: almost 1.5 million
• Price per share: $16.00
• Total cost: more than $23.4 million

This obesity-focused biopharmaceutical company just had an initial public offering, and these buyers helped themselves to some of those Aardvark Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: AARD) shares. This is the fifth biotech IPO so far this year, and the company raised around $94 million, intended to fund further clinical trials.

Since Aardvark went public, its shares have changed hands for between $11.55 and $17.95 apiece, both above and below the IPO price. After the initial dip, shares headed in the right direction, good news for the insiders who scooped up shares.

Atai Life Sciences

• Buyer(s): 10% owner Apeiron Investment Group
• Total shares: more than 10.8 million
• Price per share: $2.10
• Total cost: almost $22.8 million

This transaction was part of a public offering of common shares. Atai Life Sciences N.V. (NASDAQ: ATAI) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the treatment of mental health disorders. It recently posted positive topline results for a treatment for alcohol use disorder.

The share price is about 13% higher since the beginning of the year, but it was last seen below the offering purchase price. The $8.00 consensus price target suggests that Wall Street sees plenty of room for shares to run in the next 52 weeks. All six analysts who cover the stock recommend buying shares, two of them with Strong Buy ratings.

Note that the buyer’s purchase raised its stake to more the 40.5 million shares.

Arcus Biosciences

• Buyer(s): 10% owner Gilead Sciences
• Total shares: over 1.3 million
• Price per share: $11.00
• Total cost: about $15.0 million

This transaction was part of a public offering of stock to fund ongoing research and development activities, including the clinical development of casdatifan, a HIF-2α inhibitor. Biotech giant Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) boosted its stake in Arcus Biosciences Inc. (NYSE: RCUS) to more than 31.4 shares.

The share price was last seen below the buyer’s purchase price. The stock has retreated about 28% year to date and is near a multiyear low. The mean price target is up at $31.10, which signals almost 200% upside in the coming year. Even the low target is above the current share price. The consensus recommendation of analysts is to buy shares.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services

• Buyer(s): a director
• Total shares: more than 59,400
• Price per share: $166.53 to $169.95
• Total cost: about $10.0 million

While a couple of other insiders sold some shares recently, this director stepped up to the buy window and raised his stake to more than 88,700 shares.

Arkansas-based J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) specializes in freight and logistic services by road and rail. Its most recent quarterly results revealed falling revenues. More recently, launched a 40-acre solar farm to power its headquarters.

Since the third-quarter report, the stock is down more than 9% but was last seen trading within the purchase price above. The $188.55 mean price target is less than the 52-week high of $214.39, but it still indicates that analysts anticipate almost 13% upside in the next 12 months. Their consensus recommendation is to buy shares.

Millrose Properties

• Buyer(s): CEO Darren Richman and two directors
• Total shares: almost 270,900
• Price per share: $21.57 to $23.00
• Total cost: more than $6.1 million

Land developer Millrose Properties Inc. (NYSE: MRP) was recently spun off from homebuilder Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN), and it went public on February 7. CEO Richman had the lion’s share of these transactions, about $6.0 million worth. One of the two directors is also CEO of Jackson Health System.

So far Millrose shares have traded for between $19.00 and $27.07 apiece. They were last seen changing hands for a little more than the top of the purchase price range above. Insiders hold more than 22% of the shares.

PBF Energy

• Buyer(s): 10% owner Control Empresarial de Capitales
• Total shares: 200,000
• Price per share: $22.93 to $24.50
• Total cost: more than $4.7 million

This investment firm controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim has been scooping up shares of PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE: PBF) since last June. Now its stake is up to around 29.7 million shares.

The New Jersey-based refiner recently posted its third consecutive quarterly net loss due to falling margins. The stock has retreated about 17% since the report, and in fact has trended downward for almost a year. Shares were last seen trading for a little more than the buyer’s latest purchase price range. Analysts have a mean price target of $26.31, which represents about 10% upside potential in the next 12 months. Yet, none of the 15 analysts who follow the stock recommends acquiring shares.

And Other Insider Buying

In the past week, some insider buying was reported at AIG, Amcor, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Bruker, CVS Health, Ecolab, Hanesbrands, Helmerich & Payne, Noble, U.S. Foods, and Wynn Resorts as well.

Prediction: This Pharma Stock Will Be the Best Performer in 2025

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