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SEC Insider
Trading Tracker

When executives buy their own stock with personal money, it's worth paying attention. Search Form 4 filings from the official SEC EDGAR database.

SEC EDGAR — Official US Government Data
Search Filings
This tool searches the SEC's official EDGAR full-text search system. Results open in a new tab from sec.gov — the authoritative source for all public company filings.
How to Interpret Form 4
Open market purchase (P) — executive spent personal money. Strongest bullish signal.
Option exercise + hold — converted options and kept shares. Moderately bullish.
Open market sale (S) — weak signal alone; executives sell for many reasons (diversification, taxes, home purchase).
10b5-1 plan sale — pre-scheduled; ignore for signal purposes.

Why Insider Buying Matters

Insiders have the most accurate information about their company's prospects. When a CEO buys $500k of stock on the open market with their own money — not options, not grants — they're making a directional bet. Academic research shows insider purchases outperform the market by 6–8% annually on average.

Legal vs. Illegal Insider Trading

Form 4 filings are perfectly legal. Executives must disclose all trades within 2 business days of execution — this is the SEC's transparency mechanism. Illegal insider trading occurs when someone trades on material non-public information (MNPI) without disclosure. Everything in EDGAR is the legal, disclosed kind.

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Strongest Signals to Watch

  • Cluster buyingMultiple execs buying
  • Large open market buy>$100k personal
  • CEO buys at 52-wk lowVery bullish
  • New director purchasesGood signal
  • 10b5-1 salesIgnore

What is SEC Form 4?

Form 4 is a mandatory SEC disclosure filed within 2 business days whenever a corporate insider (officer, director, or 10%+ shareholder) buys or sells shares in their company. These filings are public record on SEC EDGAR. Tracking them is a legal and widely-used investment research technique practiced by institutional investors.

Best Free Resources for Insider Trading Data

SEC EDGAR (sec.gov) is the original source — free but requires knowing EDGAR syntax. OpenInsider.com aggregates EDGAR data with filtering. Form4.com offers email alerts. Finviz shows insider activity on stock pages. This tool provides direct EDGAR search links so you always access primary source data.

Next Step: Translate Raw Signals Into Founder Context

Market and insider signals are more useful when they connect back to company readiness, positioning, and decision-making frameworks.

Open Pitch Scope founder tools →

Why This Crosslink Fits

After collecting data points, the next task is making better founder decisions with them rather than just tracking events in isolation.