Top 10 Stocks With Big Insider Buying, Buybacks

Next up is DirecTV Group(DTV Quote), which just approved a $1 billion stock-repurchase plan.

The provider of digital television recently completed a $1 billion program that was initiated back in August. Aggressive buybacks have been a common theme for the El Segundo, Calif.-based company, which has repurchased about $5 billion in stock since February 2006.

Even though there are fears of a weakening economy and credit crisis on our hands, CEO Chase Carey is confident his company can make it through unscathed. Carey believes that since the company's customers are in the higher income brackets, the impact of a poor economic environment would be "marginal at most."

Another bullish factor is that DirecTV's stock has been experiencing numerous Wall Street upgrades. Kaufman Bros. upgraded the stock to buy from hold and awarded it a $28 price target. Analyst Todd Mitchell believes DirecTV has the strongest HD offering in the marketplace and stands to benefit the most from the upcoming HDTV conversions. He also points out that a high percentage of the company's clients are in "A" and "B" household, and therefore have the least exposure to an economic downturn.

Lehman Brothers analyst Vijay Jayant also believes in DTV and upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight, increasing the stock's price target to $32 from $30. He named DTV his top fundamental pick in the sector and predicts the same catalysts as Mitchell. He notes that DTV has the best HDTV offerings and that its subscriber base "represents the higher-end of the socioeconomic spectrum."

It's also good to see that Mason Hawkins, manager of Southeastern Asset Management, is interested in DirecTV stock. Hawkins recently increased his positions in Level 3 Communications (LVLT Quote) and Chesapeake Energy(CHK Quote).

Another positive for DirecTV is that Navellier & Associates owns the stock. The $4.5 billion fund, run by Louis Navellier, also holds Nvidia(NVDA Quote) and CME Group(CME Quote).

So with DirecTV, we have an aggressive buyback, analyst upgrades and two well-known investors in the stock.