The foundation of successful stock investing lies in building a well-structured portfolio. And if your portfolio consistently generates solid returns – then mission accomplished. The nice part is that there is not one, but rather countless approaches to getting there, each favored by different investors.
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One strategy that continues to attract attention is tracking corporate insider activity. These insiders – board members and top executives – are responsible for steering company performance and protecting shareholder value. With their deep understanding of operations and access to strategic decisions, they often have a sharper view of where their business is headed, and by extension, where its stock might be going.
The upshot is, when the insiders start buying their own stock in bulk – we’re talking about multi-million-dollar lots – then it’s time for investors to pay attention. Fortunately, regulatory authorities require that insiders’ trades be published regularly, and TipRanks’ Insiders’ Hot Stocks tool puts that public trading information right at your fingertips.
We’ve opened up that tool to look into some recent insider stock trades, and we’ve found some that not only show million-dollar buys but also have the ‘thumbs up’ from the analysts at banking giant Goldman Sachs. Here’s a closer look to find out what makes these stocks so compelling.
Mineralys Therapeutics (MLYS)
We’ll start with a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical research company, Mineralys. This firm is currently working to develop new medications to treat aldosterone-driven cardiac and renal conditions. Aldosterone is a steroid hormone involved in regulating both blood pressure and blood volume; as such, dysregulated aldosterone can be an important risk or causative factor in high blood pressure, which itself is a major contributor to problems with heart and kidney function. It’s estimated that as many as 25% of patients with high blood pressure also have higher-than-normal aldosterone levels.
The company’s leading product on this research track is lorundrostat. This novel investigational drug candidate is an orally dosed, highly selective, once-daily aldosterone synthase inhibitor, or ASI. The drug functions through inhibition of the enzyme that catalyzes the final steps of aldosterone synthesis, with the goal of lowering aldosterone levels without affecting cortisol synthesis.
Lorundrostat has already displayed strong selective activity in favor of inhibiting aldosterone over cortisol and earlier clinical trials showed that the drug candidate was well tolerated by patients. The Phase 3 Launch-HTN trial tested the drug in a diverse range of patients diagnosed with uncontrolled or treatment-resistant hypertension. On September 5, the company released data showing “significant and clinically meaningful” reductions in blood pressure, across a demographically diverse group of trial participants.
These positive results came just days after a data release from Astra Zeneca, which showed that the larger company’s competing drug baxdrostat, while meeting the endpoints, appears to be less efficacious than lorundrostat. This leaves the Mineralys drug candidate – the company’s only pipeline drug – as a potential best-in-class treatment option. Shares in Mineralys have more than doubled in value since these data readouts have become public.
Turning to the insiders, we find that Dr. Srinivas Akkaraju, of the company’s Board of Directors, bought 588,235 shares of MLYS on September 4, just days after the Astra Zeneca data release. He spent a shade under $15 million on the stock purchase, and now holds more than $232 million worth of Mineralys shares.
This biotech company has caught the attention of Goldman analyst Richard Law, who notes the strength of lorundrostat as a potential blood pressure medication – and its advantage over its nearest competitor. He writes, “We continue to see upside potential as we progress toward lorundrostat’s NDA submission. Our positive outlook is driven by: 1) lorundrostat’s clinically meaningful ~2 mmHg higher SBP reduction vs. AZN’s baxdrostat, 2) best-in-class attributes in the large 3/4L+ HTN market (~10-20M addressable patients in US), and 3) near-term potential to attract partnership/M&A interests from large biopharma companies with established cardiovascular franchises.”
Looking ahead, Law sees potential here for Mineralys to reap gains working with its competitors, and adds, “More importantly, we believe the race between MLYS and AZN on their NDA filing could accelerate strategic interests and discussions as any biopharma company interested will need adequate time to prepare for lorundrostat’s launch and compete with AZN. Therefore, we anticipate a partnership deal could occur sooner than later and likely before lorundrostat’s NDA filing, which was recently guided for 4Q25/1Q26.”
The Goldman analyst puts a Buy rating on MLYS, and his $52 price target implies a robust one-year upside potential of 44%. (To watch Law’s track record, click here)
Overall, Mineralys stock gets a Strong Buy consensus rating, based on 7 reviews that include 6 Buys to just 1 Hold. The shares are priced at $36.21 and their $43.14 average target price suggests a potential gain of 19% in the next 12 months. (See MLYS stock forecast)
Smithfield Foods (SFD)
The next stock on our list is Smithfield Foods, a $9 billion leader in the packaged food industry. Smithfield’s operations focus on processed meat products, particularly pork and pork-based products. The company employs some 34,000 people in the US, along with another 2,500 in Mexico, working at everything from meat processing and packing facilities to administration, distribution, and marketing. Smithfield has developed strong working relationships with a wide array of US farm producers, especially hog farmers, and is also connected to a network of global distributors and customers.
Smithfield has been in business since 1936 and is known for its innovations in the meat packaging industry. The company employs extensive automation technologies in its processing facilities and is known for developing and using products to enhance flavor and extend shelf life for added convenience. The company maintains a traceable supply chain, essential for safety in the food industry. Smithfield’s product lines include ham and bacon, sausages, lunch meats, and more, and are marketed under a variety of brand names, including Smithfield, Eckrich, and Nathan’s Famous.
Smithfield operated under private ownership from 2013 until January of this year, when it held an IPO that saw the SFD ticker go public on the NASDAQ. The company raised approximately $522 million in the event.
On the financial side, Smithfield released its fiscal 2Q25 results on August 12 and showed gains in revenue. The company’s top line came to $3.8 billion, growing 11% year-over-year and beating the forecast by $180 million. At the bottom line, Smithfield’s 55-cent non-GAAP EPS was in line with expectations – and was up from 51 cents in the prior-year quarter. Smithfield management raised its guidance on full-year operating profit to the range of $1.15 billion to $1.35 billion, citing a $50 million increase in hog production as a driver of the new profit guidance.
Turning to the insider moves, board member Long Wan made a major buy of Smithfield stock, picking up 1.8 million shares on September 8 – spending a whopping $41.85 million on the purchase. Wan now holds a stake in Smithfield worth $123.6 million.
Leah Jordan covers this stock for Goldman, and she sees a clear path forward for the company to continue making gains. Explaining her stance, Jordan writes, “While 2Q profitability was limited by a MTM headwind, we continue to see a constructive set-up into 2H with a favorable commodity backdrop, along with the strength and resiliency of its packages meats business, which continues to resonate with consumers given its diverse portfolio of products… While the company noted cautious spending behavior by consumers, SFD is well positioned to retain customers in a variety of macro scenarios given its large and diverse portfolio across price points (including private label). Overall, we are encouraged by SFD’s packaged meat performance in the quarter and see support for a long-term +LSD revenue CAGR for this segment.”
Jordan goes on to put a Buy rating here, and she backs that up with a $32 price target that points toward a 34% gain in store for the year ahead. (To watch Jordan’s track record, click here)
Smithfield’s shares have picked up five recent analyst reviews – and they are all positive, for a unanimous Strong Buy consensus rating. The stock is priced at $23.89, and its $30.1 average price target implies an upside of 26% by this time next year. (See SFD stock forecast)
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.