Look Who’s Buying: Pinnacle Entertainment, Penn National Gaming, Omnicare

As earnings season rolls onward, InsiderScore released a new report that zeroed in on three companies slated to report this week that were on the receiving end of some insider buying during the quarter.

REUTERS

First up is Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK). CEO Anthony Michaal Sanfilippo bought 23,000 shares of the Las Vegas-based gaming company for $505,800. InsiderScore notes this is his first purchase in nearly two years and writes, "After shares retreated more than 15% from a six-year high and with an activist hedge fund pushing the casino operator to spin off its real estate into a REIT, Sanfilippo stepped up with his first purchase. [He put] a fresh $500,000 into the stock at a price two times his cost basis of previous buys."

Next, we turn to another gaming company: Penn National Gaming (PENN). Three insiders bought during the quarter: CEO Timothy J. Wilmott bought 50,000 shares for $537,000; CFO Saul Reibstein bought 5,000 shares for $52,700 and John Jacquemin, a director, bought 20,000 shares for $214,800

InsiderScore notes that Wilmott made his first purchase on record and that Jacquemin's buy was his first in over 10 years, while Reibstein's purchase more than doubled his cash investment in Penn National. According to InsiderScore:

The [executives] sent a meaningful valuation message, transacting buys as shares of Penn fell to an 18-month low in early May. The purchases came two weeks after the gaming company issued a mixed earnings report and downside guidance and represented a sentiment reversal following quantitatively significant selling by other insiders in late 2013. Shares of Penn continue to trade near the level where the insiders bought, and there has not been an insider sale at the company since the purchases.

Finally insiders bought at Omnicare (OCR), a long-term care pharmacy provider. Now CEO/former COO Nitin Sahney bought 10,000 shares for $584,900 and CFO Robert Kraft bought 1,500 shares for $90,000. InsiderScore writes that Sahney's buy was the largest in at least 10 years at Omnicare and Kraft's purchase was his first on record.

InsiderScore continues: "Shares hit a new all-time high of $67.49 on July 1st, or a price 15% above insiders' average buy price of $58.69. The stock has since returned to the $64.00-$65.00 level."

Shares of Pinnacle Entertainment have gained 0.8% to $24.36 at 3:27 p.m. today, while Penn National Gaming has jumped 3.2% to $11.64 and Omnicare has advanced 0.4% to $65.07. Omnicare reports July 23 and Penn National and Pinnacle report July 24.