Free market tool · No signup · Based on SEC Form 4 filings
Insider trading tracker
Track recent stock purchases and sales by company executives, directors and big shareholders, straight from their SEC Form 4 filings.
StockEducation Editorial Team · Updated · 13 min read · How we check our tools
The tool
See the latest insider trades
Output Provider data, time shown in the tool
Insider Activity Monitor: recent executive and director trades.
Up to 100 recent provider records based on Form 4 filings. Filter purchases and sales, then verify the original SEC document.
Loading recent insider filings…
Should I follow what insiders are doing?
A transaction here is not a signal.
This shows transactions reported to the SEC by companies and their insiders. We report what was filed. We do not know why any transaction happened.
Insiders buy and sell for reasons unrelated to their view of the company, including tax, divorce, diversification and plans set months in advance.
Filings can be delayed or later amended. Verify against SEC EDGAR.
Should I follow what insiders are doing?
A transaction here is not a signal.
This shows transactions reported to the SEC by companies and their insiders. We report what was filed. We do not know why any transaction happened.
Insiders buy and sell for reasons unrelated to their view of the company, including tax, divorce, diversification and plans set months in advance.
Filings can be delayed or later amended. Verify against SEC EDGAR.
Educational content only. Insider filing data can be delayed, incomplete or require verification. Insider buys and sells are research clues, not personal financial advice or investment recommendations.
How to use it (three steps)
Press Refresh Feed to load up to 100 recent trades, then filter to buys or sells. Each card links back to the original SEC filing so you can check it.
- 1Press Refresh Feed to load recent trades
- 2Filter to buys, then open the SEC filing behind any trade
- 3Check whether the buy is large relative to what the insider already owns
How to read a trade card
Form 4 basicsEach card is one transaction an insider reported to the SEC on Form 4: who traded, their role, whether they bought or sold, how many shares and at what price.
- P covers open-market or private purchases. S is a sale. Purchases with the insider’s own cash are usually the more telling.
- Many sales are routine: taxes, diversification, a house, or a plan set months in advance.
- Several insiders buying around the same time is more notable than one trade.
- Always check the original filing on SEC EDGAR before drawing conclusions.
Research the company
Open the fundamentals assistantShould I buy a stock when insiders are buying?
Not on that alone. Company insiders, meaning officers, directors and anyone owning more than 10% of a company’s shares, must report their trades to the SEC on Form 4 within two business days.1 An open market purchase means someone with a close view of the business chose to put in their own money, which many investors find interesting. But insiders can be wrong, and they sell for many reasons that have nothing to do with the company’s prospects. Treat a trade as a reason to research, not a signal to act.
Checked against Investor.gov · SEC · see sources
- Insiders. Officers, directors and 10%+ owners.
- Form 4. Filed within two business days.
- P and S. Purchase and sale; A, M, F and G are usually routine.
- Buys. Rarer and often more telling.
- Sales. Many routine reasons, including planned sales.
- Verify. Check the filing on SEC EDGAR.
Transaction typesBuys versus sellsWhat it cannot tell youTest yourself
Part 1 of 3 · Transaction types
What do the Form 4 transaction types mean?
Every Form 4 transaction carries a one letter code. A few codes cover most of what you will see.
The common codes
| Code | Meaning | How much it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| P | Purchase on the open market or from another person | Often the most telling |
| S | Sale on the open market or to another person | Common; many routine reasons |
| A | Grant or award from the company, such as stock pay | Part of pay, not a choice to buy |
| M | Exercise or conversion of options | Often followed by a sale |
| F | Shares withheld to pay tax | Routine |
| G | Gift | Rarely meaningful |
Codes as defined on SEC Form 4. Check each filing’s footnotes.
Who counts as an insider?
Officers (such as the CEO and CFO), directors on the board, and anyone holding more than 10% of a class of the company’s shares. They file Form 3 when they become insiders, Form 4 for most trades, and sometimes Form 5 after the year ends.1
How can I tell a planned trade from a choice made on the spot?
Look for the 10b5-1 checkbox. Since April 2023, insiders must tick a box on Form 4 when a trade was made under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, and they must give the date the plan was adopted.3 The checkbox identifies a transaction reported under a plan intended to meet Rule 10b5-1 conditions. An unticked box does not establish when the decision was made or why.
Plans come with a waiting period. A director or officer who sets one up generally has to wait at least 90 days before the first trade, and up to 120 days depending on when the company reports its quarterly results.4 They must also certify that they hold no material inside information when they adopt it.
Why this matters to you: a reported plan provides timing context, but does not reveal motive or guarantee compliance. Read the plan date, transaction code and footnotes together. Gifts also appear on Form 4 now, under code G.3
Check the code first. Only some codes are real decisions to buy or sell.
Part 2 of 3 · Buys versus sells
Why do insider buys and sells mean different things?
A transaction code does not establish motive. Distinguish purchases, sales, awards and planned transactions, then read ownership and footnotes.
A real filing: Natera (NTRA)
Natera director and co-founder Jonathan Sheena reported a sale of 215 shares at a weighted average price of $399.3403 through the Caraluna 1 Trust. That row represents about $85,858; it is one of several sales in the filing. Footnote 1 says the sales followed a Rule 10b5-1 plan adopted on June 11, 2026. The price footnote gives the underlying range, and the ownership footnote describes the trust. Read the original SEC Form 4. These facts do not establish a motive or predict the share price.
Why are sales usually less telling?
- Planned sales. Many insiders sell on a schedule set up in advance under SEC Rule 10b5-1.
- Taxes and diversification. Executives paid in stock often sell to pay tax or spread their risk.
- Life events. Homes, education and divorce all lead to sales.
A large unplanned sale, or several insiders selling together, is worth a closer look. A single routine sale usually is not.
Why does an executive buying their own stock get so much attention?
Executives are already paid in shares, so buying more on the open market is an extra bet with money they could spend anywhere. That is why a CEO or CFO purchase usually draws more notice than a sale. Four questions help put a purchase in context.
- Role. Check the buyer’s role and relationship to the company; a title alone does not establish an investment signal.
- Size against pay. A $200,000 purchase is large for a director paid $250,000 and small for a CEO paid $20 million. Pay appears in the company’s proxy statement on EDGAR.
- Clusters. Check whether several reported purchases are independent decisions or relate to the same arrangement.
- Timing. Buying soon after a big price drop can mean management thinks the market overreacted. They can still be wrong.
The Natera filing above shows why the footnotes matter: a reported sale followed an earlier trading plan. Apply the same checks to purchases, and research the business before drawing conclusions.
Buys and sells both need context. Read the original filing.
Part 3 of 3 · What it cannot tell you
What can the insider tracker not tell me?
The feed reports what was filed. It cannot explain why, or tell you what happens next.
What are the limits?
- No motive. The filing shows the trade, not the reason.
- No prediction. Insiders can be early, late or simply wrong.
- Delays and amendments. Filings can come late or be corrected. Verify on SEC EDGAR.
- Recent trades only. The feed shows up to 100 recent records from a data provider.
Research before you react. The AI fundamental analysis assistant walks through a company’s revenue, margins, debt and cash flow so an insider trade has context.
Open the fundamentals assistant Free, no signup.If insiders trade legally, what does illegal insider trading look like?
Illegal insider trading means buying or selling a security in breach of a duty of trust while holding material information the public does not have.5 An executive who buys shares the week before an unannounced takeover, or tips a friend who does, crosses that line. This feed contains publicly reported transactions. A filing is not a legal clearance and does not establish that a trade complied with every rule.
Companies add their own guardrails. Most set blackout periods, often in the weeks before earnings, when insiders may not trade at all. That is one reason purchases tend to bunch up just after results are published.
If you ever see something that looks like trading on secret information, such as heavy buying right before surprise news, you can report it to the SEC through its online tips and complaints system.6 You do not need proof, only a clear description of what you saw.
Follow the filings, then follow the business.
Mistakes to avoid
Three mistakes to avoid, and what to do instead
Copying insider sales
Executives sell for taxes, houses and diversification. Sales say little; clusters of open market buys say more.
Mistaking option exercises for buying
Many filings are grants or exercises, not purchases with cash. Read the transaction code in the filing.
Acting on a single trade
One purchase by one director is weak evidence. Several insiders buying over weeks is worth a closer look.
Quick check
Three quick questions and one why
1. How soon must an insider report most trades on Form 4?
2. Which Form 4 code shows an open market purchase?
3. The CEO sells shares under a plan set up months ago. What does that most likely tell you?
Why: why do many investors care more about insider buying than selling?
Insiders sell for many personal reasons, but they generally buy with their own money for one: they think the shares are worth more. Even so, they can be wrong, so a purchase is a starting point for research.
Common questions
Insider Trading Tracker FAQ
What is an insider trading tracker?
An insider trading tracker lists stock purchases and sales that company insiders have reported to the SEC. Insiders are officers such as the CEO and CFO, directors, and anyone owning more than 10% of a company’s shares. They report most trades on Form 4 within two business days. This page loads recent Form 4 trades and lets you filter to buys or sells, with a link to each original filing.
Is insider trading illegal?
Only one kind is. Trading while holding material information the public does not have, in breach of a duty of trust, is illegal. Insiders can legally trade subject to applicable rules. This feed lists reported trades; reporting a transaction does not itself establish its legality. Companies also set blackout periods, often before earnings, when insiders cannot trade at all.
What does it mean when executives buy their own company’s stock?
It means people who run the business chose to spend their own money on its shares. Executives already get stock as pay, so an extra open market purchase, code P, is a deliberate choice. It matters most when the buyer is the CEO or CFO, the amount is large next to their pay, or several insiders buy within weeks. Executives can still misjudge their own company.
Should I buy a stock when insiders are buying?
Not on that alone. An insider purchase is a starting point for research; the filing does not establish what the buyer believes about future value. It says nothing about whether today’s price is fair or whether the problem behind a recent fall is fixed. Check the company’s revenue, profits, debt and outlook first, and remember that insiders are sometimes early or simply wrong.
Do insider sales mean a stock is going to fall?
Usually not on their own. Insiders sell for many personal reasons: paying tax on stock awards, spreading risk, buying a home or paying for school. Many sales are scheduled months ahead under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, which Form 4 now flags with a checkbox. A large unplanned sale, or several insiders selling together outside a plan, deserves a closer look. A single routine sale rarely does.
What is a 10b5-1 plan?
A 10b5-1 plan is a written schedule of future trades that an insider sets up in advance, so later trades are not based on whatever they know at the time. Directors and officers must certify they hold no inside information when they adopt one, then wait at least 90 days before trading under it. Form 4 now includes a checkbox showing when a trade was made under such a plan.
Where does this tracker get its data and is it live?
The tracker requests up to 100 recent insider transactions based on Form 4 filings from a third party data provider, through StockEducation’s server. Records can be delayed, incomplete or later amended, and the feed depends on that provider being available. Each card links to the original SEC filing. If the feed fails to load, search the company on SEC EDGAR and open its Form 4 filings directly.
How do I find an executive’s pay to compare with a purchase?
Open the company’s proxy statement, filed as Form DEF 14A, on SEC EDGAR. Its summary compensation table lists salary, bonus and stock awards for the top executives, and another section shows how many shares each director and officer owns. Compare a purchase with those figures. A $500,000 purchase means far more from someone paid $400,000 a year than from someone paid $15 million.
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Insider trades on one card, and where to go next
- Step 1 · DoneHow insider filings work
See it on one card
- Insiders. Officers, directors and 10%+ owners.
- Form 4. Filed within two business days.
- P and S. Purchase and sale; A, M, F and G are usually routine.
- Buys. Rarer and often more telling.
- Sales. Many routine reasons, including planned sales.
- Verify. Check the filing on SEC EDGAR.
- 2Step 2 · NowResearch the company
Check revenue, margins and debt before acting on a trade.
Open the fundamentals assistant Free, no signup. - 3Step 3Follow the learning pathThe learning pathFree
Learn the rest in the right order
Lessons, videos, tools and quizzes, ordered so each step builds on the last, from market basics to building a portfolio.
Start the learning path
Want the full sequence? See the course outline →
Sources and assumptions
- Investor.gov (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission): Insider transactions and Forms 3, 4 and 5. Who files, the two business day deadline and transaction codes.
- SEC EDGAR full text search. Where to find and verify each filing.
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: SEC Adopts Amendments to Modernize Rule 10b5-1 Insider Trading Plans and Related Disclosures. Form 4 now flags trades made under a 10b5-1 plan, and gifts moved from Form 5 to Form 4.
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Rule 10b5-1 and insider trading fact sheet. The cooling off period before directors and officers can trade under a new plan.
- Investor.gov (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission): Insider trading. How illegal insider trading is defined.
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Report Suspected Securities Fraud or Wrongdoing. Where the public can report suspected insider trading and other violations.
How the tool works: it requests up to 100 recent insider transactions based on Form 4 filings from a data provider through StockEducation’s server, and lets you filter purchases and sales. Each record links to the SEC filing. Data can be delayed, incomplete or amended. The Natera example is a dated historical SEC filing, not a current quote or recommendation.
Page history. October 23, 2026: V11 design and guide integrated while preserving the working tool and previously checked Natera filing example. New guide claims were checked against the linked SEC sources.
StockEducation provides general education, not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Results are illustrations based on the assumptions you enter, not forecasts or promises of any return. Investing involves risk, including the loss of money you invest.
