• Insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors, especially when markets are near all-time highs.

• Some insiders took advantage of initial public offerings in the past week.

• CEOs at a retailer, a software company and an insurer were among the insiders buying shares.

Conventional wisdom says that insiders and 10% owners really only buy shares of a company for one reason — they believe the stock price will rise and they want to profit from it. So insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors, particularly when there is uncertainty in the markets or the markets are near all-time highs.

With the earnings-reporting season over, plenty of insiders are now free to add to their stakes. Here are some of the most noteworthy insider purchases that were reported in the past week.

Prometheus Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ: RXDX) saw several insiders, including 10% owners, directors and an officer, acquire over $54.23 million worth of shares last week. That was more than 2.85 million shares of this San Diego-based biotech at the initial public offering price of $19 per share.

A beneficial owner at pharmaceutical company Innoviva Inc (NASDAQ: INVA) stepped up to the buy window midweek. That owner indirectly added more than 4.85 million shares to its stake, bringing it to over 6.15 million. At prices that averaged $3.25 per share, the transaction totaled nearly $13.93 million.

A group of directors and executives took advantage of a public offering of Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ: MBIN) stock. Altogether, they purchased 202,400 shares of this Indiana-based bank holding company. At $25 per share, that added up around $5.06 million. The bank has hiked its dividend as well.

A director returned last week to acquire another 71,800 or so PennyMac Financial Services Inc (NASDAQ: PFSI) shares indirectly. At prices ranging from $64.75 to $65.28 per share, the total came to over $4.68 million. That same director bought more than 108,000 shares in the prior week.

After a disappointing earnings report earlier this month, GoHealth Inc (NASDAQ: GOCO) CEO Clinton Jones and another director indirectly scooped up 356,000 shares altogether for $11.24 to $11.48 apiece. That added up to over $4.05 million. The stock closed Friday at $12.00 per share.

The 200,000 Thryv Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: THRY) shares that CEO Joe Walsh purchased this past week had prices ranging averaging $18.67 apiece. These transactions cost him more than $3.73 million. Note that a 10% owner parted with over 360,000 shares of this software and marketing company last week as well.