There has been some intersting buying in shares of both Ambac (ABK) and MBIA (MBI)
Insiders:
MBIA’s Chairman Joseph Brown bought 159,000 shares of stock at $5.91 per share last week, giving him 2,611,456 shares of direct ownership.
Ambac’s Chairman and CEO Michael A. Callen bought 10,000 company shares at $2.60 per share. Director Laura Unger disclosed transactions from June 3 for purchases of 103,334 shares at $3.00 in two transactions. Jill Considine, Philip Duff, and Henry Wallace all also each bought 33,334 shares at $3.00 on June 3.
Big Fish:
Martin Whitman added to his holdings in Ambac (ABK) during the 3-months ended 2008-04-30 by 322.07%. He holds 9,707,362 shares as of 2008-04-30. Whitman also added to his holdings in MBIA Inc. (MBI) during the 3-months ended 2008-04-30 by 84.62%. He now holds 23,149,845 shares as of 2008-04-30.
Chris Davis added to his holdings in Ambac(ABK) during the 3-months ended 2008-03-31 by 108.9%. He holds 29,744,503 shares as of 2008-03-31.
Pershing’s Bill Ackman has dramatically reduced his short exposure to both insurers.
We first talked about this in early May and the situation for both has improved since then, not worsened. While that seems like a joke, it is the first time in a very long time we can say that.
Guys like Whitman are rarely wrong when it comes to these types of investments. Having insider pony up cash is also a real sign of support and future clarity. These folks are looking through the lenses at what is happening and must see something they like..I think it may be time to dabble soon.
Disclosure (“none” means no position):None
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