MSCI CEO Henry Fernandez Bought the Dip

Shares of stock-index compiler MSCI tumbled after earnings. The company’s top executive, Henry Fernandez, bought $6.7 million of shares. (Jaimi Joy/Bloomberg)

Shares of MSCI dropped in late July after the compiler of stock indexes reported second-quarter earnings. Chairman and CEO Henry A. Fernandez used several million dollars to buy the dip.

Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Owen Lau wrote in a report that MSCI reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter on the morning of July 22, but there was weakness in net new recurring subscription sales and the retention rate. “We look favorably upon MSCI’s long-term prospects, but are concerned about the near-term growth profile,” Lau wrote. He rates MSCI stock at Perform without a price target.

Shares ended July 22 with a 9% drop to $526.48. They have reclaimed some but not all of that ground since.

Fernandez paid a total of $6.7 million for 12,400 MSCI shares, an average price of $542.87 each. He purchased 10,000 shares through a personal account that now holds 1.28 million shares, according to a form that Fernandez filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He bought 2,400 shares through a trust that now owns 332,780 shares. Another trust that Fernandez controls owns 506,710 shares.

MSCI didn’t make Fernandez available for comment, but said in an email, “Henry Fernandez is more than our founder and CEO: He’s a shrewd investor who believes in MSCI and wants to participate in the upside he sees for our company as we deliver more solutions and serve more clients around the world.”

Fernandez has been CEO of MSCI since 1998, when the company was a unit of Morgan Stanley. MSCI’s initial public offering was in 2007, the same year that Fernandez added the chairman title.

He last purchased MSCI stock a few months ago. In February, Fernandez paid $3 million for 5,300 shares, or $574.51 each, through his personal account.

Inside Scoop is a regular Barron’s feature covering stock transactions by corporate executives and board members—so-called insiders—as well as large shareholders, politicians, and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.

Write to Ed Lin at edward.lin@barrons.com