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 just 351 transactions taking place

Banks and Electronic equipment were the most invested sectors

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

🏦 2/ US Politicians potential insider trading: Rep. McCaul +40% on materials stock

A number of Congressional members have established themselves as regular participants in the stock market. Among them is Representative Michael McCaul, who has consistently reported trades each month over the past year.

According to records, he divested nearly $113.03 million in shares in September 2023. In recent updates, Rep. McCaul's spouse made a purchase of Simpson Manufacturing Co. (SSD:US) shares on November 1. This marked the second reported SSD acquisition by the Texan Representative, with his child also making a purchase on the same date.

Following these transactions, SSD stock has experienced a substantial increase of approximately +40.83%. Simpson Manufacturing specializes in the design and sale of wood and other construction products. With its headquarters in California, the company boasts a history dating back to 1956 and currently holds a Market Cap of nearly $8.22 billion. Notably, Simpson Manufacturing's stock has seen an impressive year-to-date surge of 110.71%

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🔔 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: Occidental Petroleum changes oil market dynamics with strategic acquisition

Occidental Petroleum (OXY:US) made public on Monday its intention to acquire privately-held U.S. shale oil producer CrownRock in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $12 billion, inclusive of debt.

This strategic move aligns with an industry-wide trend toward consolidation in the shale sector, exemplified by Exxon Mobil's (XOM:US) proposed $60 billion agreement for Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD:US) and Chevron's (CVX:US) $53 billion deal for Hess (HES:US) in October.

Subject to approval, Occidental's acquisition of CrownRock would position the company as a major player in the U.S. shale sector, surpassing the combined presence of Chevron and Hess. The deal is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2024, projecting a boost in Occidental's Permian production by 170,000 barrels of oil and gas per day in the Midland, reaching a total of 750,000 boed.

Beyond operational gains, the acquisition is foreseen to generate immediate cash flow for investors, estimated at around $1 billion based on a $70 per barrel WTI oil price. Occidental highlighted that nearly half of CrownRock's 1,700 undeveloped locations could remain profitable even with WTI at $40 per barrel.

To fund the acquisition, Occidental plans to utilize $9.1 billion in new debt, assume CrownRock's existing $1.2 billion debt, and issue $1.7 billion in common stock.

In response to investor apprehensions, Occidental announced a quarterly dividend increase of $0.4, reaching $0.22 per share. The company is committed to maintaining its investment-grade credit ratings throughout this strategic expansion.

On the legislative front, about two months preceding the acquisition announcement, Congressman Michael McCaul invested between $100,000 to $200,000 in the hydrocarbon exploration firm OXY on October 12.

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

STORY #2: Ro Khanna did easy +29% on Etsy

Numerous legislators have faced criticism for their stock trade disclosures, raising questions about potential violations of the STOCK Act. Recently, Representative Ro Khanna, a prominent Democrat, presented a comprehensive 5-point reform plan in Congress. The plan advocates for term limits in both Congress and the Supreme Court, along with measures to restrain Congressional Stock Trading. Despite the implementation of the STOCK Act in 2012, the ethical concerns surrounding stock and securities trading by Congress members persist. Notably, Rep. Khanna himself has frequently reported stock trades executed by funds associated with his family.

Many of these stock transactions have yielded notable returns. For instance, Khanna's child acquired shares of Etsy Inc (ETSY:US) on November 3, potentially realizing a profit of up to +28.69% if sold at present market conditions. In recent developments, Etsy announced a significant workforce reduction, impacting the e-commerce stock that had already experienced a downturn throughout the year but intensified since November

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

STORY #3: Sen. Whitehouse reports trades and got flagged for potential insider trading

Recently, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, serving as the junior United States senator from Rhode Island, publicly disclosed a series of stock trading activities. One specific transaction among these has raised eyebrows, prompting concerns about potential insider trading.

As part of the obligatory disclosure procedures, Senator Whitehouse detailed in a filing with Congress that he executed the sale of shares in Veralto Corporation (VLTO:US), a pollution treatment company, through three separate transactions on November 29.

The senator divested shares in three lots, with amounts ranging from $1,001 to $15,000. The cumulative value of the sale would have amounted to nearly $3.34 million, calculated based on the closing price on the day of the transactions.

These trades have come under scrutiny, with some expressing apprehensions, particularly in light of Senator Whitehouse's role on the Senate Committee on Environment.

Moreover, it is noteworthy that the legislator was predominantly involved in selling activities during his recent stock transactions within the last quarter

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

📄 5/ Political Trading Bot

As you may remember, we have a trading bot that buys the same stocks as politicians

The bot is offered by the SEC registered broker QB, which will perform the trades. We will just provide them with the necessary data to execute

This means that every time politicians buy sizable amount of stocks, the bot buys those stocks as well

If you want to learn more about how to get access to the Political Trading Bot, click on the video below.

We assessed its performance, and it has been delivering solid results so far.

• We launched in May 2022 and the performance was +24% return

• Performance since April 2020 was +237% return