Seven Lakes weekly summary

Hello Seven Lakers,

below a summary of relevant events happened in the stock market in the last week

📈 1/ Stocks and sectors bought by US politicians last week

This week, the trading activity at Capitol Hill was substantial, with ~367 transactions taking place

Health Care Providers and Services industry was the most invested sectors

If you want to receive daily updates on politicians trades, click here

🏦 2/ US Politicians potential insider trading: Rep. Khanna sold stocks while his trading ban proposal is in processing stage

In September 2023, Rep. Ro Khanna introduced a 5-point-reform plan for Congress

The plan includes a complete ban on stock trading by members of Congress as well as their families

The plan also advocates banning Congress from becoming lobbyists and accepting PAC & lobbyist donations, as well as term limits for all Lawmakers

In contrast, Rep. Khanna’s own family members continue to trade stocks in high numbers, and good timing

One trade on the list was Khanna’s spouse’s sale of FMC Corp (FMC:US) shares on September 06. This trade saved up to 23.64% in losses for Khanna’s family.

If you want to receive daily updates on political trading, click here 

🔔 3/ How to be notified when politicians buy / sell stocks

As seen before, some suspicious trades were made by Congress Members and their relatives

However, the GOOD NEWS is that their moves can be copied (politicians need to disclose their stock positions)

The Seven Lakes Research analyst team provides PREMIUM detailed updates from Monday to Friday with all the relevant fact on: 

Click on the button below to start receiving them 👇👇👇👇👇

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📄 4/ Interesting stock market stories

STORY #1: Lockheed Martin seems undervalued amid war tensions

Good news for Lockheed Martin Corporation

The aerospace giant Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT:US) announced a Q4 2023 dividend of $3.15 per share, marking the 21st consecutive year of dividend increases

Also, Lockheed Martin's board of directors has approved a $6 billion share buyback program, nearly doubling the current program's total authorization to $13 billion. This buyback strategy is a means to enhance shareholder value by repurchasing undervalued shares

Involvement in geopolitical conflicts

Lockheed Martin's recent involvement in geopolitical events has also raised eyebrows. In June, it expressed readiness to train Ukrainian pilots. And, in July, Lockheed Martin secured a significant deal by selling an additional 25 aircraft to Israel's air force for nearly $3 billion

Lobbying activities

Concurrently, the defense contractor is one the largest players when it comes to federal lobbying

In 2022, the Aerospace firm spent an estimated $13.60 million on lobbying activities whereas, in 2023, it has expended over $6.99 million up to date.

Undervalued stock?

Representative Daniel S. Goldman disclosed selling $15,000 to $50,000 worth of LMT shares in July, while Lockheed Martin's year-to-date stock performance has seen a nearly 16% decrease, influenced by geopolitical events and market dynamics

The stock price decrease seems to not make sense, given geopolitical tensions will probably boost aerospace production and demand. Together with dividends and stock repurchase, those factors probably make LMT an undervalued stock at the moment

If you want to be notified when politicians trade stock, we send daily email alerts here

STORY #2: Apple insiders are selling as market is negative on the stock

Why Apple was downgraded

Apple Inc. (AAPL:US) received a rare downgrade this week from KeyBanc, which cited valuation as the major reason for their decision

The stock is trading at all-time highs which the firm believes is at an unjustified premium to the Nasdaq when compared with historic valuations

Apple released the new iPhone 15 last month but the launch has not been as popular among mobile phone users as many of its previous launches

The company is also under pressure due to growing risks from its exposure to the Chinese economy

Insiders are selling lot of Apple stocks

All the negativity surrounding the stock has also prompted many to question the recent selling spree of insiders and politicians

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook sold 240,569 shares earlier this week. He sold the shares worth $41.5 million. He also sold over $9 million worth of stock in April this year.

As for politicians, during the month of August, Dan Sullivan sold $15,000 - $50,000 worth of AAPL stock while Josh Gottheimer sold a similar quantity

In addition to this, Ro Khanna, who trades AAPL frequently, has been a net seller so far in 2023, selling $315,000 - $650,000 worth of stock in comparison to buy transactions worth $175,000 - $450,000

If you want to be notified when politicians trade stock, we send daily email alerts here 

STORY #3: General Motors falls -2% on dangerous air-bags news

GM recalling million of vehicles

General Motors (GM:US) is facing a new significant challenge as it has an estimated 20 million vehicles equipped with potentially dangerous airbag parts

This is because U.S. auto-safety regulators are recalling airbag inflators produced by ARC Automotive, a Tennessee-based auto supplier; those airbags have been known to explode with excessive force during vehicle crashes

GM stock fell -2.3% on Thursday

Shares are now down -8.2% from beginning of the year

Ro Khanna was selling: did he know anything?

Congress member Ro Khanna has been selling GM shares in recent months, including two $15,000 - $50,000 sales made in July when the stock was trading around the $40 mark; Following Thursday’s selloff, GM shares closed at $30.31

Air bags problems overlap with workers union tension

If the recall goes ahead on the scale currently being considered, it would rank among the largest recalls in the history of the United States. This situation presents a substantial challenge for GM as the company is still locked in talks with the workers union about a new long-term deal.

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