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Besser James E: insider trades

10% owner, Other at 2 companies we cover. 4 open-market purchases and 3 sales not made under a pre-set plan, reported from March 29, 2018 to April 8, 2021.

Would copying Besser James E’s purchases have beaten the S&P 500?

Too few purchases to judge. Only 3 purchases have 12 months of prices after the report; we judge insiders once they have 20. The figures below can swing a long way on a handful of trades. Twelve months after each report, the average purchase was −71.4% against the S&P 500 (median −71.4%), and 0% beat it. After their sales, the shares moved −77.4% against the index over 12 months on average (a negative figure means selling was the right call); 100% trailed it. None of their purchases could be priced, so there is no copy portfolio.

With 296 insiders tested, some will look skilled or unskilled by chance alone: when we replaced each insider’s stocks with random companies bought on the same days, about 5.7 cleared the bar ahead and 23.3 behind. One record on its own proves little.

Trade by trade

MeasuredTrades countedAverage vs S&P 500MedianWent the right wayYearst-statisticp-valueEvidence
Purchases, 3 months after the report 3 −20.1% −20.1% 0% 1 — — Not enough years
Purchases, 6 months after the report 3 −46.6% −46.6% 0% 1 — — Not enough years
Purchases, 12 months after the report 3 −71.4% −71.4% 0% 1 — — Not enough years
Purchases, 12 months after the trade 0 — — — — — — Not enough years
Sales, 3 months after the report 3 −34.3% −29.6% 100% 2 — — Not enough years
Sales, 12 months after the report 3 −77.4% −77.1% 100% 2 — — Not enough years
Sales, 12 months after the trade 3 −65.9% −81.5% 100% 2 — — Not enough years

“Average vs S&P 500” is the stock’s return including dividends minus the index’s over the same dates, from the close on the first trading day after the report, or from the close on the trade date. Only windows that have finished are counted. For sales, a negative figure means the stock lagged after it was sold, so selling was the right call (green). “Went the right way” is the share of purchases that beat the index, or of sales that trailed it. The t-statistic uses one average per year of reports, because one person’s trades bunch into the same stock and weeks, and needs trades in at least four different years; the p-value comes from the t distribution with that number of years (with four years, a t of 2 has p = 0.14). “Some evidence” means p under 5%, “strong evidence” p under 1% over at least six years.

Companies traded

CompanyTitle on the latest filingPurchasesSalesFirst reportLatest report
Fennec Pharmaceuticals Inc. FENC —31March 29, 2018March 29, 2018
Processa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. PCSA —12October 13, 2020April 8, 2021

Trades and what followed

Moves are against the S&P 500; green means the trade went the insider’s way.

ReportedTradedCompanyTradeValue3 months after report12 months after report12 months after trade
April 8, 2021April 6, 2021 PCSA Sale $4,821,342 −29.6%−77.1%−85.4%
February 22, 2021February 18, 2021 PCSA Sale $332,289 −53.2%−83.8%−81.5%
October 13, 2020October 2, 2020 PCSA Purchase $121,200 not yetnot yetnot yet
March 29, 2018March 8, 2018 FENC Sale $9,704,023 −20.1%−71.4%−30.8%
March 29, 2018January 27, 2016 FENC Purchase $392,528 −20.1%−71.4%not yet
March 29, 2018May 27, 2015 FENC Purchase $170,046 −20.1%−71.4%not yet
March 29, 2018December 24, 2014 FENC Purchase $475,668 −20.1%−71.4%not yet

Open-market purchases and sales of at least $10,000 in companies we cover, from SEC Form 4 filings; sales made under a pre-set Rule 10b5-1 plan are not shown. “Not yet” means the window has not finished or the share price was under $5 at entry. These are the shares’ moves after each trade: they say nothing about why Besser James E traded and do not suggest the use of non-public information. How every insider compares · the insider trading backtest.