Bargain hunters are wise to pay careful attention to insider buying, because although there are many various reasons for an insider to sell a stock, presumably the only reason they would use their hard-earned cash to make a purchase, is that they expect to make money. Today we look at two noteworthy recent insider buys.

At Mercer International, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Wednesday, Director Alan C. Wallace bought 8,000 shares of MERC, for a cost of $10.52 each, for a total investment of $84,160. Mercer International is trading off about 2.3% on the day Friday. This buy marks the first one filed by Wallace in the past year.

And at Level One Bancorp, there was insider buying on Wednesday, by Director Jacob W. Haas who bought 3,000 shares for a cost of $24.88 each, for a total investment of $74,640. This buy marks the first one filed by Haas in the past year. Level One Bancorp is trading up about 1.2% on the day Friday.