Insiders at BE Aerospace Buy Shares, Leading to Turnaround Speculation
Fasten your seat belts. BE Aerospace Inc. could be preparing for takeoff again.</br></br>The executives who are piloting the manufacturer of aircraft-cabin equipment started buying shares of company stock in February. This is the first significant round of activity since the summer of 1997, when BE Aerospace executives sold shares and reduced their stake in the company.</br></br>"There hasn't been much activity over the past year and a half, and because they were such heavy sellers in 1997, I find the buys very interesting," said Nancy Fedorowicz, an analyst at First Call Investnet, a Rockville, Md., concern that tracks insider transactions.</br></br>The insiders have rekindled their interest in the stock just when shares were closing in on a 52-week low. From Feb. 10 to Feb. 19, six BE Aerospace insiders purchased 46,000 shares at $12.69 to $14.94, according to First Call Investnet. Yesterday, BE Aerospace shares closed at $14, down 43.75 cents, on the Nasdaq Stock Market.</br></br>The latest round of purchases included top company officials, adding more credibility to the buys, some analysts said. "The executives have been with the company for a while, they have a good track record and the cluster of activity represents fairly large dollar amounts," said Jonathan Moreland, director of research at InsiderTrader.com, a Web-based distributor of insider data. "Just about every rule to get you interested in insider trading at a company is being ticked off."