What happened
It was follow-the-leader time at The Children's Place (PLCE 3.50%) on Thursday. The company's shares were trading nearly 11% higher in late-session trading on that day, thanks in no small part to a big insider stock buy. That skyward trajectory contrasted strongly to the S&P 500 index's dip; it was almost 0.8% lower on the day at that time.
So what
The insider doing the buying was none other than The Children's Place CEO Jane Elfers. As detailed in a regulatory document filed that morning, on Wednesday Elfers bought 43,000 shares of the company at an average price of $23.70 per share. That puts the total amount spent on the stock at just over $1 million -- no wonder investors were encouraged by the move.
Elfers is clearly putting her money where her mouth is with the company. Her latest buy gives her a total of 370,033 shares of The Children's Place stock. With today's price rise, that amounts to a total holding of more than $9.8 million. The specialty retailer's market cap is slightly under $330 million.
The regulatory document is a Form 4, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It is a purely informational digest, so no reason or reasons are provided for the transactions detailed in it. Elfers herself has not yet publicly commented on the buy, nor has The Children's Place.
Now what
That's to be expected, as companies and executives usually say little or nothing about their personal investments and divestments in and out of their businesses. Nevertheless, when an important member of the C-suite loads up suddenly and heavily, it's a strong signal that they are confident about their company's future. So, The Children's Place is surely a company worth keeping track of now.
