If you are looking for clues to tell you which stocks have a good chance of increasing in value, you might want to watch what insiders are doing. After all, talk is cheap, but when insiders put their own money on the line, you should sit up and take note.

Westport Innovations Inc. (WPRT) topped the insider-buying charts for the week ending July 9 as insiders snapped up 500,000 shares of company stock at a market value of $9,280,046. During the past six months, insiders have increased their overall holdings in the company by 160.45% and now own 12.67% of WPRT stock.

If you are looking for clues as to which stocks have a good chance of increasing in value, you might want consider watching what insiders are doing. After all, talk is cheap, but when insiders put their own money on the line, you should sit up and take note.

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc (SNSS) topped the insider-buying charts for the week ending July 9 as insiders snapped up 120,075,389 shares of company stock at a market value of $56,435,433. Insiders now own 2.04% of Sunesis stock.

Agilysys Inc. (NASDAQ: AGYS), which provides information technology services, is a typical small-cap operator with a market valuation of only $308 million or so. Given its size, it's tough to get traction in terms of analyst coverage and stock price appreciation. Instead, Agilysys has attracted a variety of hungry hedge funds – like Ramius Capital, which owns 7.6% of the common stock.

So, Monday the company announced that it has retained JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) to explore strategic alternatives. Basically, the company is looking for a buyer.

Agilysys's services are focused primarily on the retail and hospitality sectors. To boost things, the company has made a variety of acquisitions over the past couple years, such as for Innovative Systems Design, InfoGenesis, Stack Computer and Visual One Systems Corporation. Unfortunately, the results have been lackluster. Over the past year, the shares have gone from $23 to a low of $9.21.

In the latest quarter, Agilysys posted a loss of $807,000 or $0.03 per share. Yet, revenues surged 75% to $206.4 million (no doubt, there was lots of help from acquisitions). Actually, it looks like customers are starting to pull back on deals.

In other words, there may be trouble in getting a premium valuation for Agilysys.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Monday May 21

• JPMorgan 35th Annual Technology Conference.
• Lowe's Companies Inc (NYSE: LOW) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9am. Lowe's is expected to post sub-par revenue results and an EPS decline, given the continued sluggishness in U.S. housing sector.
• PDUFA date for Shire plc's (NASDAQ: SHPGY) SPD-465 for ADHD in adults.

Tuesday May 22

• Staples Inc (NASDAQ: SPLS) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 8am.
• Men's Wearhouse Inc (NYSE: MW) to hold conference to at 5pm discuss Q1 earnings, detail its acquisition of After Hours and discuss the impact on 2007 guidance.

Wednesday May 23

• Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9:30am.
• Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE: ANF) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.

Thursday May 24

• McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) to hold shareholder meeting at 10am.
• Gap Inc (NYSE: GPS) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 5pm.

Friday May 25

• Lowe's to hold annual shareholder meeting at 10am. Note that Lowe's reports on Monday 5/21.
• Agilysys Inc (NASDAQ: AGYS) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 11am.