Kelly Ardrey, Chief Accounting Officer at Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL), recently picked up 3,000 shares. The buy increased her stake by 97 percent, and came to a total purchase price just over $236,000.
This is the first buy at the company since early March, when the CFO picked up 2,000 shares, and the Executive Chairman bought 25,000 shares at a cost of just over $1.9 million.
Going further back, there have been both purchases and sales by insiders over the past three years, with sellers leading on volume in 2020 and 2021. Insiders at the bank own about 2.8 percent of shares.
The bank is down 28 percent over the past year, as rising interest rates and fears of an economic slowdown have hit financial companies hard in recent months. However, the bank grew revenues by 44 percent last year, and earnings rose by 27 percent. And the bank has a massive 45 percent profit margin.
Action to take: Investors may like shares, as the regional bank is large enough to look attractive for an even bigger bank to acquire. Plus, shares yield about 1.8 percent here, and the low dividend payout was recently boosted.
For traders, the September $90 calls, last going for about $4.00, offer substantial upside on a rally in shares in the coming months. Traders can likely nab a mid-to-high double-digit gain on the trade.
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.