Engaging In Insider Activity, Air A. Bastarrica Jr. At Knowles Exercises Options

Disclosed in a recent SEC filing on December 5, Jr., Vice President at Knowles KN, made a noteworthy transaction involving the exercise of company stock options.

What Happened: A Form 4 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday revealed that Jr., Vice President at Knowles in the Information Technology sector, exercised stock options for 4,482 shares of KN stock. The exercise price of the options was $16.77 per share.

Knowles shares are trading down 0.0% at $19.42 at the time of this writing on Friday morning. Since the current price is $19.42, this makes Jr.'s 4,482 shares worth $11,877.

Delving into Knowles's Background

Knowles Corp is engaged in the manufacturing of micro-acoustic microphones and balanced armature speakers, audio solutions, high-performance capacitors, and radio frequency filtering products. It operates in three segments; the Precision Devices segment specializes in the design and delivery of high-performance capacitor products and RF solutions, Medtech & Specialty Audio segment designs and manufactures microphones and balanced armature speakers used in applications and the Consumer MEMS Microphones segment designs and manufactures micro-electro-mechanical systems microphones and audio solutions used in applications. The majority of its revenue comes from the Consumer MEMS Microphones segment.

A Deep Dive into Knowles's Financials

Revenue Growth: Knowles displayed positive results in 3 months. As of 30 September, 2024, the company achieved a solid revenue growth rate of approximately 31.82%. This indicates a notable increase in the company's top-line earnings. As compared to competitors, the company surpassed expectations with a growth rate higher than the average among peers in the Information Technology sector.

Key Insights into Profitability Metrics:

• Gross Margin: Achieving a high gross margin of 44.14%, the company performs well in terms of cost management and profitability within its sector.

• Earnings per Share (EPS): With an EPS below industry norms, Knowles exhibits below-average bottom-line performance with a current EPS of 0.01.

Debt Management: With a below-average debt-to-equity ratio of 0.3, Knowles adopts a prudent financial strategy, indicating a balanced approach to debt management.

Evaluating Valuation:

• Price to Earnings (P/E) Ratio: The P/E ratio of 38.08 is lower than the industry average, implying a discounted valuation for Knowles's stock.

• Price to Sales (P/S) Ratio: The Price to Sales ratio is 2.19, which is lower than the industry average. This suggests a possible undervaluation based on sales performance.

• EV/EBITDA Analysis (Enterprise Value to its Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation & Amortization): The company's EV/EBITDA ratio 17.12 is below the industry average, indicating that it may be relatively undervalued compared to peers.

Market Capitalization Analysis: Reflecting a smaller scale, the company's market capitalization is positioned below industry averages. This could be attributed to factors such as growth expectations or operational capacity.

Now trade stocks online commission free with Charles Schwab, a trusted and complete investment firm.

Why Insider Activity Matters in Finance

Insider transactions shouldn't be used primarily to make an investing decision, however, they can be an important factor for an investor to consider.

In legal terms, an "insider" refers to any officer, director, or beneficial owner of more than ten percent of a company's equity securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This can include executives in the c-suite and large hedge funds. These insiders are required to let the public know of their transactions via a Form 4 filing, which must be filed within two business days of the transaction.

When a company insider makes a new purchase, that is an indication that they expect the stock to rise.

Insider sells, on the other hand, can be made for a variety of reasons, and may not necessarily mean that the seller thinks the stock will go down.

The Insider's Guide to Important Transaction Codes

When analyzing transactions, investors tend to focus on those in the open market, detailed in Table I of the Form 4 filing. A P in Box 3 denotes a purchase,while S signifies a sale. Transaction code C signals the conversion of an option, and transaction code A denotes a grant, award, or other acquisition of securities from the company.

Check Out The Full List Of Knowles's Insider Trades.

Insider Buying Alert: Profit from C-Suite Moves

Benzinga Edge reveals every insider trade in real-time. Don't miss the next big stock move driven by insider confidence. Unlock this ultimate sentiment indicator now. Click here for access.

This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.