Insider filings, explained
Short, practical guides to reading SEC insider filings — what the forms and codes mean, which transactions carry signal, and why clustered insider buying is the pattern worth watching.
What is an insider cluster buy?
An insider cluster buy groups qualifying purchases by two or more insiders in the same stock. Learn how detection works and what to verify in SEC filings.
SEC Form 4 transaction codes explained
Decode SEC Form 4 transaction codes with a complete reference table. Understand purchases, sales, grants, exercises, and the separate acquired/disposed flag.
How to read SEC Form 4: a filing walkthrough
Read SEC Form 4 step by step: identify the owner, decode transactions, compare acquired and disposed shares, and check footnotes with a real filing example.
What is a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan?
Understand Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, cooling-off periods, and Form 4 disclosures. Learn how scheduled trades differ from current discretionary purchases.
Who counts as a corporate insider?
Officers, directors, and 10% owners are the 'Section 16 insiders' who must file Form 4s. Here's who's included, and why a CEO's buy means more than a passive fund's.
Form 4 filing deadline: the two-business-day rule
Form 4 is generally due within two business days of a reportable transaction. See deadline examples, exceptions, and how filing dates differ from trade dates.
Form 3 vs Form 4 vs Form 5: what's the difference?
Form 3 declares initial ownership, Form 4 reports trades within two days, Form 5 catches up on exempt transactions annually. Which one carries signal?
Insider buying vs insider selling: why the signals aren't symmetric
Insiders sell for dozens of reasons but buy for one. The research and the intuition behind why purchases predict returns and sales mostly don't.
Insider buying vs share buybacks: which signal is stronger?
Buybacks spend shareholder money; insider buys spend the executive's own. Why personal purchases are the cleaner conviction signal, and what each is good for.
What is an open-market purchase (Form 4 code P)?
An open-market purchase is an insider buying company stock on the exchange with personal cash — transaction code P on Form 4. Why it's the only routine filing event with real signal.
Why insider buying matters most in small-caps
The information gap between insiders and the market is widest in small and micro-cap stocks — no analyst coverage, thin liquidity, and binary outcomes. Here's the logic and the evidence.
What is SEC EDGAR (and how insider filings get there)?
EDGAR is the SEC's public filing system — every Form 4 appears there within seconds of acceptance. How the pipeline works and how to read filings at the source.