With 2023 coming to an end, several market experts are now confident that the recession which they were expecting is not likely to take place this year. However, now the question is, whether this optimism will last till the next year? Goldman Sachs has released 2024 outlook report, in which it expects that the US economy will grow at the marginal rate in the next year. However, the global investment bank does not expect a recession hitting the overall economy. Goldman Sachs continues to expect that the S&P 500 index should close 2024 at ~4,700 levels, exhibiting a 12-month gain of ~5%. Stocks which insiders are buying are always being in the minds of the investors in the challenging times.
Goldman Sachs has stated that, by the end of 2024, global investors and analysts will look back and realize that they should have remained invested in the stocks in which they initially built the positions. Goldman Sachs also reiterated that year 2023 was termed as the year of mega-cap technology stocks. This is because all the big tech giants saw a significant increase their share prices as a result of AI models. Global investment bank believes that risk reward of these technology giants will lose attraction in the next year because of higher expectations. Therefore, stocks which insiders are buying should be considered by the investors as these might outperform the overall indexes in 2024. Higher shareholding of the insiders means that the management is confident about the growth prospects of the company.
With this in mind, let us now have a look at the stocks which insiders are buying.
1. Aligos Therapeutics, Inc.
The company is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, which is engaged in developing novel therapeutics to take care of the unmet medical needs in viral and liver diseases, such as chronic hepatitis B and coronaviruses, etc.
It has released its financial results for 3Q23, and during this period, the company raised ~$92 million in private placement financing enabling advancement of its NASH THR-ß and CHB CAM-E programs.
Cash, cash equivalents and investments of the company totalled ~$70.4 million as at September 30, 2023 in comparison to $125.8 million as at December 31, 2022. The company raised private placement financing of ~$92 million in gross proceeds, before the deduction of placement agent’s fees and several other expenses, in the month of October. If the company includes expected net proceeds as a result of the private placement, it believes that the cash balance gives sufficient cash to finance planned operations through 2025 end.
Net losses for 3Q came in at $18.0 million or basic and diluted net loss per common share of $(0.41) in comparison to the net losses of $18.6 million or basic and diluted net loss per common share of $(0.44) for the same period of the previous year.
R&D expenses for 3Q came in at $15.9 million in comparison to $17.8 million for the same period of 2022. This fall was mainly because of employee-related costs and other costs which includes facility expenses, partially offset by higher third party expenses because of milestone payments made due to dosing 1st patient in clinical trial.
The insider of the company purchased the company’s shares on 25th October. Carole Nuechterlein, director and ~10% owner at the company, bought ~7.9 million shares at $0.76 per share. It has gained ~8.67% in the previous 1 month through November 22. Total value of the said transaction came in more than $6 million.
2. Asana, Inc.
The company is a software company, which provides a platform for work management. It helps teams orchestrate work, ranging from the daily tasks to cross-functional strategic initiatives.
Earlier in November, the company’s CEO Dustin Moskovitz purchased ~237,015 shares of the company at the price of $17.50 per share. The CEO has been amassing the company’s shares consistently since the month of September this year.
The company has released its financial results for 2Q of fiscal 2024 ended July 31, 2023, in which its revenues came in at $162.5 million, exhibiting a rise of 20% year over year. Its GAAP operating loss came at $73.4 million, or 45% of revenues, which exhibits an improvement year over year in comparison to the GAAP operating loss of $111.3 million, or 82% of revenues, in 2Q of fiscal 2023.
Cash flows from operating activities came at $20.2 million against negative $41.6 million in 2Q23. FCF was $14.6 million in comparison to the negative $42.3 million in 2Q of fiscal 2023. Overall, dollar-based net retention rate in 2Q came at more than 105%. The number of customers shelling out ~$5,000 or more on an annualized basis in 2Q increased to 20,782, exhibiting a rise of ~15% year over year.
For the third quarter of fiscal 2024, the company expects revenues of $163.5 million – $164.5 million, exhibiting a rise of 16% year over year.
3. CVB Financial Corporation
CVB Financial Corp is holding company for Citizens Business Bank.
George A. Borba, who is the director at CVB Financial Corp., purchased ~212K shares of the company on November 1. Total value of the said transaction came at ~$3.4 million.
The company has announced earnings for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The company saw net income of $57.9 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 in comparison to $55.8 million for 2Q23 and $64.6 million for 3Q22. Diluted EPS was $0.42 for the third quarter against $0.40 for the prior quarter.
Conclusion
While above are some of the stocks which insiders are buying, there are several stocks in various industries in which the insiders have amassed shares on a consistent basis.
Amidst huge volatility in the current market environment, retail investors should focus on the stocks which insiders are buying so that they can make their investing journey simple. While personal analysis and risk appetite should be considered while investing, focusing on such stocks will help in filtering some of the promising stock picks for the long-term.
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