Insider buying often demonstrates internal confidence in the future performance of a company. In times of market uncertainty (particularly in a post-COVID world), insider transactions may signal management consensus that markets will recover at a faster (or slower) rate than anticipated by the general public.
In August, the New York Times reported that insider purchasing was at an all-time high, according to AlphaSense data. In the weeks following, however, the pace of purchases has settled.
To monitor this trend as it evolves, we’ve created the Insider Transactions Feed -- a live feed of all insider purchases and sales, leveraging the AlphaSense API to extract data from Form 4 filings.
To stay up-to-date on insider transactions, visit the tracker or login to AlphaSense. If you are not currently an AlphaSense user, request a free trial.
Insider Selling Reached All-Time Highs in August
In August, daily filings for company insider stock purchases reached an all-time high of 152 purchases per day. The weekly numbers, following a few slow weeks in July, skyrocketed in mid-August.
WoW Insider Transactions have slowly decreased from August’s massive spike throughout September and into October.
Compared to August 2019, August 2020 represented one of the largest months of filings in years, a YoY change of over 20%.
# of 4/4A filings per month over the past year
The Past Month: Digging Into the Data
Zooming out to the last 30 days, we see the most concentration of insider buying in Software, Biotechnology, and Healthcare Equipment & Supplies.
Software and Biotechnology accounted for almost half of Insider Transactions in September
Software, in particular, has spiked in September and October, with companies like Salesforce, Yext, Blackberry, Smartsheet making large transactions.
Looking at the past 7 days:
- Richard Schulze, CEO of Best Buy and 10% shareholder, sold 442,931 shares of stock this week
- Insulet Corp (PODD) President and CEO Stacey Petrovic sold $3.5 million of Shares on October 5th
- Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of stock for an estimated $3.9 million