Angela Korch, CFO at Vail Resorts (MTN), recently bought 165 shares. The buy increased her stake by 8%, and came to a total cost of $28,561.
Korch was the last buyer of shares in June, buying 575 shares, at a cost of $101,315. Otherwise, two company directors have been slight sellers of shares, and the company Chairman of the Board sold of $1.6 million of shares, or about 4% of his stake.
Overall, Vail Resorts insiders own 1.5% of shares.
The ski and mountain resort operator is down 17% over the past year. Revenues are down 2%, and the company’s earnings growth has been negative. Plus, shares trade at 29 times earnings, a moderate premium to the overall market.
Earnings are seasonal, and dependent on strong, but not too strong, winter weather for ski season. It’s possible shares see a push higher over the coming weeks amid the start of winter.
Action to take: Shares trade near six-month lows, but aren’t quite in oversold conditions yet. They would be a speculative buy here for a pop higher into the winter months.
At current prices, Vail Resorts pays a 5.2% dividend.
For traders, options may be the safer bet here. The January 2025 $185 calls, last trading for about $6.10, could see mid-double-digit returns on a trend higher following the start of winter, and has limited downside compared to owning shares if the stock fails to rise with the start of ski season.
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 company mentioned in this article.