This post is a quick look at the insider trades tool, something that's always worth keeping an eye on. Not every inside trade is significant, of course, with the trick often being spotting the patterns that emerge. Let's look at three examples, the first one negative (and from one of the usual suspects). The second is a positive example and makes me think "hmmm...worth looking into that stock". The last one is so bare-faced and scammy that you have to wonder how they get away with it, it's so bad.First Dorato Resources (DRI.v) up to its old tricks. Yesterday this Cardero Group play released the retail pump PR and send out suitably smarmy mails to market-type people at the same time, trying to draw attention to themselves (I got one). Amazingly it's also the day insider Bedoya sells another 18.5k of stock to add to his previous recent sales. This licenced bandit can't get rid of this paper quick enough. In the most basic of terms, these people want you to buy the stock while they sell it. Nuff said.
| Feb 23/09 | Feb 23/09 | Bedoya, Jorge Arturo | Direct Ownership | Common Shares | 10 - Disposition in the public market | -18,500 | $0.650 |
| Feb 20/09 | Feb 20/09 | Bedoya, Jorge Arturo | Direct Ownership | Common Shares | 10 - Disposition in the public market | -1,500 | $0.650 |
| Feb 06/09 | Feb 06/09 | Bedoya, Jorge Arturo | Direct Ownership | Common Shares | 10 - Disposition in the public market | -35,000 | $0.800 |
| Feb 05/09 | Feb 05/09 | Bedoya, Jorge Arturo | Direct Ownership | Common Shares | 10 - Disposition in the public market | -35,000 | $0.750 |
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Now the positive example, and I've chosen Queenston (QMI.to). Now these guys do a fairly shareholder-friendly financing that's suscribed in a flash and at the same time insider Robert Cudney is snapping up stock on a regular basis. That's a nice combo, one that has "they put their money where their mouth is" written all over it.
| Feb 23/09 | Feb 18/09 | Cudney, Robert Douglas | Control or Direction | Common Shares | 10 - Acquisition in the public market | 10,000 | $3.580 |
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| Feb 19/09 | Feb 13/09 | Cudney, Robert Douglas | Control or Direction | Common Shares | 10 - Acquisition in the public market | 10,000 | $3.360 |
| Feb 17/09 | Feb 11/09 | Cudney, Robert Douglas | Control or Direction | Common Shares | 10 - Acquisition in the public market | 11,000 | $3.350 |
| Feb 11/09 | Feb 09/09 | Cudney, Robert Douglas | Control or Direction | Common Shares | 10 - Acquisition in the public market | 4,000 | $3.110 |
| Feb 09/09 | Feb 05/09 | Cudney, Robert Douglas | Control or Direction | Common Shares | 10 - Acquisition in the public market | 20,000 | $3.410 |
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And finally, the downright deceptive. Plexmar (PLE.v) is a miner of shareholder cash that should be avoided like the plague. As mentioned in this recent post, CEO Guy Bédard dumped 445,000 shares on the market the same day that the company share price jumped on PR "good news". But then it just got better! Bédard subsequently and very quickly replaced the stock he sold at 9c with double the amount at 5c, taking part of the very recent placement that could only fill a little over a third of the target 20m shares. Expect the lather-rinse-repeat cycle to continue long into the future at PLE.v, but for the sake of your own back pocket please don't be part of it.
| Feb 14/09 | Feb 11/09 | Bédard, Guy | Indirect Ownership | Common Shares | 11 - Acquisition carried out privately | 900,000 | $0.050 |
| Jan 26/09 | Jan 16/09 | Bédard, Guy | Indirect Ownership | Common Shares | 10 - Disposition in the public market | -50,000 | $0.085 |
| Jan 26/09 | Jan 16/09 | Bédard, Guy | Indirect Ownership | Common Shares | 10 - Disposition in the public market | -45,000 | $0.086 |
| Jan 26/09 | Jan 16/09 | Bédard, Guy | Indirect Ownership | Common Shares | 10 - Disposition in the public market | -350,000 | $0.096 |
So there are three examples of how to use insider trading info to become more informed: The abysmal DRI.v, the interesting (on first viewing at least) QMI.to and the rotten-to-the-core PLE.v. Canadians can get insider info either via the website Canadian Insider (a useful quick check source) or via the main SEDI site (the one to use for the real DD). US stocks have insider trades filed directly at the according SEC page.