Top 10 Stocks With Big Insider Buying, Buybacks

One of the primary goals of Stockpickr.com is to allow everyday investors to see what the big-time investors are buying.

When a well-known savvy investor starts loading up on shares of a particular company, that's generally a bullish sign for the health of a stock because that person without a doubt invested a great deal of time conducting due diligence before making the investment.

Consider also that these investors have bankers, lawyers and consultants breaking down the business every which way imaginable.

The real icing on the cake, however, comes when that same company announces that an insider has purchased a large chunk of stock or, even better, when the board announces a new large share-buyback program.

As Jim Cramer often points out: "Insider selling happens all the time for many different reasons, but insiders only buy for one reason: They think their stock is going higher."

With all this in mind, each Thursday at Stockpickr we update the Top 10 Insider Purchases and Buybacks portfolio, featuring 10 stocks that recently have had either big insider purchases or newly announced buybacks, as well as super-investors accumulating shares.

Moody's(MCO Quote) makes this week's list thanks to a new $2 billion buyback plan set to begin immediately after its existing plan is finished. During the second quarter, the credit ratings company repurchased 7.7 million shares for $500 million.

The New York-based firm also released impressive second-quarter earnings last week that were highlighted by a 52% profit increase. The company saw net profit soar to $261.9 million, or 95 cents a share, from $172.1 million, or 59 cents a share, in the same quarter last year. Moody's also reported revenue of $646.1 million compared with $511.4 million the previous year.

We were also pleased to see Benchmark Equity Research reiterate a buy rating on Moody's with a $66 price target. (The stock closed Wednesday at $58.36.) The firm cited Moody's recent decline in share price, stellar second-quarter earnings and new buyback plan.

Based on management's cautious outlook for the second half of the year, Benchmark will also revise its own forecasts; even so, Benchmark is still a believer in Moody's. Said Benchmark: "Despite management's lower 2007 outlook, we are reiterating our buy rating on Moody's shares reflecting the stock's recent price decline, historically low valuation and the company's strong long-term growth prospects."

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