Seifi Ghasemi, President and CEO of Air Products & Chemicals (APD), recently bought 11,000 shares. The buy increased the CEO’s stake by 2 percent, and came to a total cost of $2.9 million.
The buy came a few days after a 10,000 share buy from the CEO, costing just over $2.5 million. Otherwise, there have been no other insider transactions this year. The company’s general counsel made two sales in 2022 and 2021.
Overall, APD insiders own 0.4 percent of shares.
The specialty chemical producer is down 10 percent over the past year. Fears of a slowing global economy have weighed on shares, even as industrial production and construction, key uses for specialty chemicals, have held up well.
APD’s earnings are up nearly 20 percent over the past year, but revenues are down by nearly 10 percent, pointing to the mixed signals in the economy right now.
Shares trade at about 20 times forward earnings, a discount to the company’s average PE ratio over the past year.
Action to take: With shares looking fairly valued right now, they could be a worthwhile buy. From a technical basis, APD looks strong as shares are coming off a 52-week low. At current prices, shares pay a 2.6 percent dividend.
For traders, shares are likely to continue bouncing off their 52-week lows and trend higher in the coming weeks. The January 2024 $280 calls, last going for about $3.60, could see mid-to-high double-digit returns from here.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any of the companies mentioned in this article.