Insider buying and selling, last 90 days: who used their own money, and who sold without a plan

From July 23 to October 21, 2026, executives and directors of U.S.-listed companies reported $1.18 billion of purchases and $24.5 billion of sales on Form 4. Neither number means much as it stands. Below, every line is sorted by what it was — a person’s own money on the open market, a fund, a stock offering, a 10b5-1 plan, a tax sale — using the classification from our July–October buying and selling reviews for the filings they already covered, and the notes of each new Form 4 for the rest.

Buying: what the $1.18 billion was

People with their own money account for $595.5 million, about half, against roughly a quarter in our previous window. Part of the change is that Jefferies is now outside the 90 days: Sumitomo Mitsui’s $324 million purchase there was a bank’s money, and an amended filing had counted another $318.9 million twice.

• Bought from the company. GigaCloud’s $35.1 million came through a “share purchase agreement with the Issuer”; at Iambic Therapeutics ($11.5 million) and City Therapeutics ($3.1 million), funds bought in the IPO.
• Too large to check. Pampa Energía director Marcos Mindlin reported 435,000 ADSs ($35.1 million) on October 15, a day on which the NYSE traded 126,600; the filing does not say where they were bought. It is left out.
• A 10b5-1 plan. Jack Huang, chief executive of 51Talk, bought $59.4 million under a trading plan in the window. Those purchases are excluded; his $32.3 million in September, which the filings describe as open-market purchases and do not mark as part of a plan, are counted.

The buying ranking: people with their own money

“Change” compares the October 21 close with the average price the insiders paid; of the top 20, 15 were below it. A “director” is a board member, not an executive. Tor Olav Troim bought through Drew Holdings, owned by a trust of which he is the beneficiary, and Jack Huang through HH Talent Limited, owned by a trust he settled; the 51Talk purchases are in ADSs, and the one dated September 25 ($14.1 million) was filed on October 8, past the two-business-day deadline. More on two of the names: Ryan Cohen and GameStop and Kelcy Warren and Energy Transfer.

By number of buyers, Amrize leads again: eleven executives and directors bought $2.6 million from August 11 to September 2, at an average of $44.35; the stock closed at $38.80 on October 21. Seven insiders at Cardinal Infrastructure bought $8.5 million on August 14–17 at an average of $38.54; the stock closed at $14.64, 62.0% lower.

Selling: what the $24.5 billion was

People selling outside plans and outside tax sales: $5.19 billion, nearly nine times what people bought with their own money ($0.60 billion). The ratio is conservative: it leaves out $1.01 billion of sales without a plan in stocks with less than $5 million of such sales, which we did not review one by one.

The selling ranking: people without a plan

“Change” here is the October 21 close against the insiders’ average sale price: positive means the stock is higher than where they sold. Amphenol split 2-for-1 on September 3, so its average price is restated in today’s shares; the Form 4s show about $162. “Without a plan” means the filing does not mark the sale as made under a 10b5-1 trading plan and its notes do not describe it as a tax sale; the filings never say why someone sold.

• Elastic is new at the top. Co-founder Steven Schuurman sold 1.5 million shares on October 5 at $90.13 and 2 million on October 12 at $94.15, through CMXI B.V., a company of which he is “the controlling shareholder.” Both prices were below the day’s low ($92.00 and $95.00), which points to block trades; the notices of sale (Form 144) name Goldman Sachs as broker. We found no offering document.
• Warner Bros. Discovery is left out: Skydance completed its acquisition of the company on October 6, 2026, and the shares left Nasdaq. Its insiders’ $54.7 million of sales in August and September came while the deal was pending.
• Iridium had six insiders selling $19.7 million without a plan from August 17 to September 15; Rocket Lab has agreed to buy the company (merger proxy filed August 26, 2026).
• By number of sellers, Tenet Healthcare leads: eleven executives and directors sold $50.0 million without a plan.

How to use this

A Form 4 never says why someone bought or sold, and neither side is a forecast. A line usually attributed to Peter Lynch explains why the buying side gets more attention: “Insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.” The insider activity page updates these filings every day, and each company page lists every one. Not investment advice.