Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) are in full focus following a sizable insider purchase from interim CEO Sue Gove. Gove assumed the helm as CEO on June 29 and wasted no time in picking up shares of BBBY stock. She previously served as the head of the strategy committee and as a board member before stepping up.
Like many other retailers, Bed Bath & Beyond is dealing with an oversupply of inventory. Posing the greater risk, however, is the company’s liquidity problems. During the first quarter, Bed Bath experienced a same-store sales decline of 27%. On top of that, it posted a net loss of $358 million and only holds $107 million in cash on hand.
Despite the precarious situation, Gove and two directors of the company reported purchasing shares recently. Let’s get into the details.
Interim CEO Sue Gove Buys 50,000 Shares of BBBY Stock
According to a Form 4 received yesterday, Gove purchased 50,000 shares of BBBY on July 1, nearly doubling her existing position. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.61, representing a total purchase value of $230,500. After the transaction, Gove now owns a total of 105,587 shares.
On the same day, Director Harriet Edelman purchased 10,000 shares at an average price of $4.94 per share. After the purchase, the director now owns 73,789 shares. Meanwhile, Director Jeff Kirwan also purchased 10,000 shares. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.90 per share. After the purchase, Kirwan now owns 43,455 shares.
These purchases seem to show the three individuals are confident that Bed Bath & Beyond will see better days. Gove has stated that she is aware of the challenging macro environment and wants the company to follow a “back to basics mantra.”
Who Else Is Betting Big on Bed Bath & Beyond?
Tracking institutional ownership is important, as these large funds provide liquidity and support for stocks. During Q1, only 235 funds reported owning BBBY, a decrease of 33 funds from the prior quarter. On top of that, the amount of shares held by 13F filers declined to 71.44 million from 96.39 million.
Still, the institutional put/call ratio lies at 0.85, which means more investors own call options against BBBY than put options. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the five top shareholders.
- BlackRock (NYSE:BLK): 15.59 million shares.
- FMR: 13.1 million shares.
- Vanguard: 10.16 million shares.
- RC Ventures: 9.45 million shares.
- State Street: 3.68 million shares.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
