Millions in Insider Buying Point to These 2 Stocks — Here's What It Could Signal

Yahoo

4 days ago

There's a current of optimism in the air as Wall Street's stock markets climb back to record levels, with the S&P 500 hitting an all-time high yesterday.
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In this environment, it's tempting to just start buying, but a smart investor will still take a moment to pause, check the signals, and find the right stock.
Few market signals come in clearer than insider buys, and for good reason. These corporate officers, residents of C-suites and Boards of Directors, know the inside workings of their companies – and when that knowledge informs their stock purchases, investors should all take note. The insiders might sell for a multitude of reasons, but they only buy for one: they believe the shares are going to jump.
And when insiders start buying millions worth of their own stock, investors should definitely pay closer attention.
We've used the Insiders' Hot Stocks tool from TipRanks to do just that. We've found two stocks that are showing millions of dollars' worth of insider buying. Let's give these names a closer look and find out just why the insiders are scooping them up.
Vera Therapeutics (VERA)
We'll start with Vera Therapeutics, one of the many clinical-stage biopharmaceutical companies working on the new drugs and therapeutic agents that have so revolutionized modern medicine in recent decades. Vera's focus is on new treatments for dangerous immunological conditions, particularly those that have both high unmet medical needs and a lack of effective treatments currently on the market. The company is developing novel biologic molecules as treatment agents in this field.
Currently, Vera has one leading late-stage drug candidate in the clinical pipeline. This drug, atacicept, is under investigation as a treatment for IgA nephropathy (called IgAN, or Berger's disease), as well as for lupus nephritis.
The IgAN track is the company's most advanced program, and has recently achieved several milestones. During Q1 of this year, Vera completed enrollment of the pivotal Phase 3 ORIGIN trial of atacicept in the treatment of IgAN, and began enrolling patients in the ORIGIN EXTEND study, which continued dosing and monitoring of atacicept in patients from the Phase 2b and Phase 3 ORIGIN trials. ORIGIN EXTEND will also capture longer-term data on safety and efficacy. Earlier this month, the company announced that atacicept had met the primary endpoint of the ORIGIN Phase 3 trial at week 36.
Following up on the successes of the atacicept clinical trial program, Vera has plans to submit a Biologics License Application, or BLA, to the FDA during 4Q25. The company hopes to have an accelerated approval process and to potentially see a PDUFA date and the launch of commercialization activities sometime next year.
Despite these developments, VERA shares have shed 44% year-to-date and evidently one insider thinks it is time to pounce. Recently, Patrick Enright, of Vera's Board of Directors, purchased 250,000 shares of VERA, in two purchases that are worth a combined $5.89 million at current valuations. Mr. Enright's stake in Vera currently totals some $148 million.
This stock has caught the attention of Goldman Sachs analyst Paul Choi, who is impressed by the company's advances on the IgAN track and sees Vera as a solid choice as a potential merger target going forward. Choi writes, 'While the landscape in IgAN remains competitive, we continue to view VERA's atacicept as a clinically differentiated asset with a largely derisked profile… We have evaluated VERA shares from an M&A perspective given what we think there could be potential interest from a strategic acquirer due to the attractiveness of its end markets and pipeline assets. We assign an M&A rank of 1 (representing high (30%-50%) probability of the company becoming an acquisition candidate), and apply an 11.0x multiple on the second full year of sales (2028 given our modeled launch in 3Q26), in line with similar biotech of this stage, and arrive at a theoretical M&A valuation of $65 per share.'
Choi follows this stance by setting a Buy rating on VERA, and although his $55 price target is not as high as that 'theoretical M&A valuation,' the figure still points toward a robust one-year upside potential of 133.5%. (To watch Choi's track record, click here)
This stock has 12 recent analyst reviews, breaking down 11 to 1 in favor of Buy over Hold, giving it a Strong Buy consensus rating. The share price of $23.56 and average target of $66.58 together imply an upside of a hefty 182.5% in the next 12 months. (See VERA stock forecast)
Marriott Vacations Worldwide (VAC)
Will pivot now to an entirely different industry. The second stock we'll look at, Marriott Vacations Worldwide, is the timeshare entity built on the foundation of the hotel industry's famous Marriott name. The company was formed in 2011, when it spun off from its Marriott parent and took that company's vacation ownership and timeshare business public as an independent vacation company.
Currently, Marriott Vacations Worldwide operates several brands in its vacation ownership portfolio, including (but not limited to) Marriott Vacation Club, Sheraton Vacation Club, Westin Vacation Club, and the Grand Residences by Marriott. The businesses in this portfolio offer members the ability to choose from a variety of flexible vacation programs, of differing styles, to meet their evolving needs and desires year after year. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has over 120 resorts in its portfolio, with more than 18,000 vacation villas. Vacation destinations include the US, the Caribbean, and Central America, as well as Europe, Asia, and Australia.
The company's exchange and third-party management segment includes the Interval International and Aqua-Aston Hospitality brands. These subsidiaries operate vacationer membership programs, giving members access to full-service resorts around the world. Marriott Vacations Worldwide can give its members ownership rights in more than 3,200 resorts located in 80 countries.
Looking at some of the company's numbers, we find that Marriott Vacations Worldwide can boast more than 700,000 member-owners on its vacation ownership side, and more than 1.5 million members on the exchange and third-party management side. The company's operations generated $1.2 billion in revenue during 1Q25, the last period reported, a figure that was flat year-over-year and missed the forecast by a mere $7.15 million. The company's earnings in the quarter came to $1.66 per share by non-GAAP measures, beating the forecast by 23 cents per share.
This stock has also underperformed so far this year, shedding 17.5% of its value, but one insider must be feeling very confident in VAC's trajectory.
On June 17 and 18, Christian Asmar, one of the company's Directors, bought 750,000 shares of VAC in two tranches. His combined purchase is now worth ~$54.2 million.
The company has a supporter in Barclays analyst Brandt Montour, who explains why VAC currently has a favorable risk-reward profile. He writes, 'Coming off a long string of tougher quarters, management credibility around execution remains relatively low; however, in the current situation, a de-risked top-line outlook, favorable delinquency trends (corresponding to a higher-income average customer), and washed out sentiment isn't a terrible relative set-up vs. peers. For longer-term shareholders, we believe VAC's valuation remains too cheap to ignore, at <5x our 2026 EBITDA figures.'
The analyst goes on to rate these shares as Overweight (i.e., Buy), and he complements that rating with an $88 price target that suggests an upside potential of 22% in the year ahead. (To watch Montour's track record, click here)
The 7 recent analyst reviews on this stock include 4 Buys, 2 Holds, and 1 Sell for a Moderate Buy consensus rating. The shares have a current trading price of $72.31 and an average target price of $81.67; together, these imply that the stock will gain 13% by this time next year. (See VAC stock forecast)
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
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