Insider Watch: 3 CEOs Buying Shares

Uber Technologies UBER CEO Dara Khosrowshahi recently made a big splash, purchasing 141k shares at an average price of roughly $70.96 per share. The transaction totaled just over $10 million, with the CEO now holding roughly 1.4 million shares.

The sizable purchase comes amid continued business strength, with its latest quarterly results revealing robust growth and impressive cash generation.

Uber Continues to Deliver Strong Growth

Uber’s latest quarterly results were positive across the board, with Gross Bookings climbing 24% YoY to $58 billion and revenue jumping 12% to $14.2 billion. Trips similarly grew by a rock-solid 18% YoY to 3.9 billion, with Monthly Active Platform Consumers rising 16%.

Profitability also improved, with adjusted EBITDA jumping 33% YoY to $2.8 billion, while operating income climbed an even stronger 40%. Free cash flow came in at $2.8 billion, with trailing twelve-month FCF exceeding $10 billion for the first time in the company’s history.

The company’s growth also remains broad-based, with Mobility Gross Bookings climbing 22% YoY and Delivery Gross Bookings jumping 26%. Overall, the latest results show Uber continuing to benefit from growing platform activity while translating its strong top-line momentum into improving profitability and cash generation.

EPS revisions have remained on a bullish trajectory as of late, reflecting a strong backdrop for near-term momentum.

Other Recent CEO Purchases

Uber isn’t alone in seeing its CEO step up, as GameStop GME and Celsius Holdings CELH have similarly seen their top executives deploy capital as of late.

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen recently purchased 1 million shares at an average price of roughly $20.38 per share. The transaction totaled nearly $20.4 million, with Cohen now directly holding more than 39.3 million GME shares.

Celsius CEO John Fieldly similarly put capital at play, purchasing 18k shares at an average price of roughly $27.44 per share. The transaction totaled just under $500k, with Fieldly now directly holding more than 956k CELH shares.

Bottom Line

Many investors closely monitor insider buys, seeking insights into the longer-term picture. The transactions shouldn’t be relied on for near-term performance, as insiders’ holding periods are longer than most, and many strict rules apply.

Rather, investors can see insider buys as an overall net positive concerning the longer-term outlook.

All stocks above – Uber Technologies UBER, GameStop GME, and Celsius Holdings CELH – have seen recent CEO buying activity.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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