SoFi (NASDAQ:SOFI) CEO Anthony Noto has extreme conviction in his company. Just take a look at his recent insider transactions.
Yesterday, Noto disclosed purchasing 28,900 shares worth about $200,000. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.91 and brought the CEO’s total ownership to 8.06 million shares.
That’s his second SOFI stock buy this month. On May 3, he acquired 28,775 shares worth about $200,000 as well. This batch of shares carried an average per share purchase price of $6.90.
It’s also worth noting that neither of these purchases were enacted via a prearranged 10b5-1 plan. That indicates that the buys were spontaneous instead of planned, which is a welcome signal for shareholders. In other words, Noto believes that SoFi has upside left.
SOFI Stock: CEO Anthony Noto Buys 28,900 Shares
In fact, Noto hasn’t sold a single share of SOFI since its SPAC merger in June 2021. Meanwhile, his buys have totaled $14.48 million.
Noto’s timing hasn’t been perfect, however. His insider purchases between August 2021 and March 2022 were made at average prices between $7.84 and $14.46 compared to the current price of about $7. At the same time, he made several buys between $4.41 and $5.97 between June 2022 and May 2023, which are well in the money now.
Taking a look at SoFi’s total insider activity paints a different picture. Since the merger, insiders have purchased $15.74 million, a vast majority of which is attributed to Noto, while selling $1.09 billion. That amounts to a net total of $1.08 billion worth of sales.
Wall Street believes that SoFi still has upside. The company has an average price target of $9.23 among 24 analysts with coverage of the stock, implying upside of nearly 35%.
Research firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods is responsible for the most recent analyst update, reiterating its price target of $7.50 and “market perform” rating. Analyst Timothy Switzer notes that SoFi has been able to sell more of its personal loans during the past two quarters, which reduces credit risk. Switzer would still like to see more loan sales as SoFi’s $15.1 billion loan balance in relation to the sales is still very high.
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.
