Retailers in the auto space have seen executives and directors recently buying up shares.
AutoNation
(ticker: AN) CEO Michael Manley just bought $1 million of shares of the auto retailer. Manley wasn’t alone. Advance Auto Parts (AAP) and
AutoZone
(AZO) saw insiders recently scooping up shares on the open market.
AutoNation stock has rallied this year, but its two peers haven’t been so lucky.
Shares of retailer Advance Auto have had it rough, plunging 39% in 2022, and cratering 53% so far this year. Advance Auto stock tumbled to a multiyear low of $63.56 on June 9. Shares last traded at that level in June 2012. A poor first-quarter report from the company, released at the end of May, showed that “years of progress [are] quickly unwinding,” according to MKM analyst David Bellinger.
Six Advance Auto insiders paid $1.2 million so far in June for 17,718 shares, an average price of $65.51 each. The buying was led by Chair Eugene Lee, who paid $500,160 on June 7 for 7,635 shares, an average price of $65.51 each. Lee, chairman and former CEO of Olive Garden parent
Darden Restaurants
(DRI), bought the Advance Auto shares through a trust that now owns 10,760 shares, according to a form he filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He owns another 15,427 Advance Auto shares in a personal account. Lee joined Advance Auto’s board November 2015.
“I don’t believe the current stock price reflects the potential of the company,” said Lee in an emailed statement. “I’m confident in the company delivering significant value, which is why I recently purchased additional shares. I remain bullish on the future of Advance Auto Parts.”
Advance Auto director Douglas A. Pertz was another big buyer, paying $402,145 over June 9 and 12 for a total of 6,145 shares, an average price of $65.44 each. Pertz, executive chairman of
Brink’s
(BCO), now owns 12,831 Advance Auto shares. He has been an Advance Auto director since May 2018.
The board of the auto parts and accessories retailer AutoZone last week authorized the repurchase of an additional $2 billion of stock. Shares have been in a bit of a rut in 2023, and remain about flat year to date. Last year, shares rose 17% in 2022—quite a performance in a year that the
S&P 500 index
dove 19%.
Michelle Borninkhof, chief information officer of AutoZone, paid $522,179 on June 12 for 217 shares, an average price of $2,406.36 each.
AutoZone didn’t respond to a request to make Borninkhof available for comment. Borninkhof last bought stock on the open market in March 2022, paying $503,700 for 259 shares, an average price of $1,944.66 each. She joined the company in April 2021.
Inside Scoop is a regular Barron’s feature covering stock transactions by corporate executives and board members—so-called insiders—as well as large shareholders, politicians, and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.
Write to Ed Lin at [email protected] and follow @BarronsEdLin.
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