CELH Ticks Up After-Hours As Director DeSantis Follows CEO With $1M Buy

• Last Thursday, CEO John Fieldly bought 18,000 shares at a weighted average of $27.44, or about $494,000, lifting his direct stake to 956,063 shares. 
• The purchases came as the stock sat far below its 52-week high of $66.74. 
• The buying arrives as Celsius tries to stabilize its core brand while scaling Alani Nu and Rockstar Energy through PepsiCo distribution.

Shares of Celsius Holdings (CELH) edged up 2% after-hours on Tuesday after director Damon DeSantis spent about $1 million buying shares, extending a week of insider purchases that have so far produced only modest bounces.

CELH closed at $27.63, down 2.9% on the regular session.

Director Buys 36,000 Shares

DeSantis, an independent director and son of late Celsius backer Carl DeSantis, purchased 20,000 shares on Monday at a weighted average of $27.65 and another 16,000 on Tuesday at $27.95. The Monday trades ranged from $27.60 to $27.70, while Tuesday’s clustered near $27.95. Combined, the open-market buys totaled 36,000 shares and about $1 million. He now directly owns 2,728,187 shares.

The purchases came as the stock sat far below its 52-week high of $66.74 and after a 4.5% rebound on Monday from Friday’s close.

CEO’s Earlier Buy Set The Pattern

Last Thursday, CEO John Fieldly bought 18,000 shares at a weighted average of $27.44, or about $494,000, lifting his direct stake to 956,063 shares.

It was Fieldly’s second open-market purchase this year after an 8,475-share buy in May near $29.36. That same week, then-President and Chief Operating Officer Eric Hanson bought 7,500 shares and director Hal Kravitz bought 8,400 shares. Together, those three purchases were worth more than $700,000.

Brand Reset In The Background

The buying arrives as Celsius tries to stabilize its core brand while scaling Alani Nu and Rockstar Energy through PepsiCo distribution. Second-quarter revenue was $818 million, up 11%, with Alani Nu contributing $364 million. Results missed estimates and the shares sold off.

Days later, the company reshuffled leadership: Hanson departed, Tyler Bohannon became chief commercial officer, and Tony Guilfoyle was named chief business transformation officer. Management has said it expects the Celsius brand to stabilize before growth resumes later this year.

How Did CELH Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around CELH stock stayed in ‘bearish’  territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume remained ‘high.’

A Stocktwits user said the insider purchases show big conviction in the company’s future.

CELH stock has fallen about 40% year-to-date. 

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