When Small Cap Trades Draw Big Attention

Rep. Tim Moore (R-N.C.) has been busy shopping in some interesting corners of the market lately. Among his recent stock purchases—which included scooping up shares of Cracker Barrel after its logo controversy—the North Carolina congressman made a series of trades in Hyster-Yale Inc. (HY) that's getting people talking.

Here's what caught attention: Moore didn't just buy once. He bought five times throughout November, steadily accumulating shares of this $620 million lift truck manufacturer that most retail investors have never heard of.

Here's the buying spree:

• Nov. 3: Bought $50,000 to $100,000 in HY shares
• Nov. 5: Bought $15,000 to $50,000 in HY shares
• Nov. 12: Bought $50,000 to $100,000 in HY shares
• Nov. 14: Bought $15,000 to $50,000 in HY shares
• Nov. 20: Bought $15,000 to $50,000 in HY shares

Add it all up, and Moore purchased somewhere between $145,000 and $350,000 worth of shares. For a company with a market cap of just $620 million, these aren't exactly trivial positions. The combination of the purchase sizes and the company's small scale has lit up social media discussions about congressional trading.

A Pattern Worth Watching

This isn't Moore's first rodeo with Hyster-Yale. The congressman has been trading in and out of the stock like it's his personal ATM. In October, he bought between $80,000 and $200,000 in shares between Oct. 8 and Oct. 14, then turned around and sold $100,000 to $250,000 worth on Oct. 24. In September, he made an even quicker flip, selling just eight days after buying.

This time around, his November purchases haven't been followed by any disclosed sales yet. But given the track record, people will be watching closely.

What makes this particularly interesting is the timing. Shares of Hyster-Yale were trading at $28.12 on the last day Moore was buying. As news of his purchases circulated on Wednesday, the stock surged to $35.03. That's a nice pop for anyone already holding shares.

Adding another layer here: Hyster-Yale has signed government contracts in the past. Any future contract awards would make these trades look even more questionable. Moore sits on both the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on the Budget, positions that could theoretically provide insight into government spending priorities.

Going Even Smaller

If you think a $620 million company is small, Moore also made a November purchase that takes things to another level entirely. He bought $1,000 to $15,000 worth of shares in Genprex (GNPX), a clinical stage gene therapy company.

Genprex has a market capitalization of less than $10 million. That makes it one of the smallest stocks ever purchased by a member of Congress. Moore also picked up $15,000 to $50,000 in Genprex shares in October, so he's clearly interested in this micro-cap biotech play.

The congressman's trading activity is expected to draw increased scrutiny in the months ahead, particularly given the pattern of quick turnarounds and the unusually small size of some of his stock picks. When a lawmaker with committee assignments related to financial services and budgeting starts actively trading small cap stocks that subsequently jump in value, questions tend to follow.