Insiders snap up energy stocks as valuations fall

New York

THE rout in energy stocks reminds Tim Rochford of something else he's seen in Texas. "What happened is almost like a herd of cattle, one cow turns left, all the cows follow it and it's a stampede," said the 68-year-old co-founder of Midland-based Ring Energy Inc, one of 118 industry executives who bought shares of their own companies in the last month amid the worst losses since 2008.

"This is an absolute fire sale," he said. "It's an overreaction and the result is it's oversold."