Insiders still buying as bank stocks beaten up - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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One of the biggest individual buyers was Michael chairmanof (Nasdaq: BOFL). Putziger spent $665,17u8 to buy 120,825 shares of Bank of Florida stock since the beginning of 2007 at prices ranginvfrom $11.25 a share on Jan. 7, 2008, to $3.59 a share on Jan. 22, 2009, according to Bank of Florida, headquartered in Naples and the parent companyof , is part of the ABA Index (Nasdaq: ABAQ), which has fallenh 33.5 percent in the same time period amid turmoill in the financial industry. “I have profounx confidence in the management of Bank of and I very much like the marketsa in whichit operates,” Putziger said.
“I feel its futurw prospects are reflected in mydecision (to buy Insider buys are sometimes regarded as a signal that thosde closest to an institutionh are upbeat about its future, but Putzigert said his stock purchasew were a personal decision and he wasn’tt trying to move the markets. During better economifc times, an insider stock purchase could be more importanf in attractingother buyers. That’sz not the case in the curreny market, said Russ Hunt, CEO of Kendricmk Pierce & Co., an investment bankintg firm in Tampa, citing the headline-grabbing stock buys earliedr this month byJamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPM), and Ken Lewis, chairman and CEO of BAC).
Both bought hundreds of thousands of sharew oftheir company’s stock, only to see the prices temporarilty drop below the purchase price they Hunt said insider stock buys are often driven by emotion. “This is their baby, and they’res going to stand up for it and make an he said. Not all insider dealzs are public. Jed Wilkinson, president and CEO of FSTF) said he purchased stock of the Sarasota-based bank last year througu his individualretirement account, which does not require SEC disclosurre because the funds are managed by someone othed than the account holder. officers and executives control about 29 percent ofFirst State’s stock.
“Our major shareholdersd already own a big part of the both individuallyand cumulatively,” Wilkinson “From the standpoint of what they have it shows their confidence.”