Insider Trading Data

What Is Insider Trading Data?

Insider trading data refers to the legally reported transactions made by corporate insiders — people with privileged access to non-public information about a company. This includes corporate officers (CEO, CFO, COO), members of the board of directors, and any shareholder who owns 10% or more of the company's outstanding shares.

Under SEC regulations, these insiders are required to file a Form 4 with the Securities and Exchange Commission within two business days of any transaction involving the company's stock. This filing is a public record, and it discloses the type of transaction, the number of shares involved, the price, and the insider's relationship to the company.

This data is one of the most powerful signals available to retail traders because insiders have the deepest understanding of their company's financial health, pipeline, and future prospects. While they cannot trade on material non-public information (that is illegal insider trading), their legal transactions still carry significant informational value. When a CEO buys $2 million worth of shares on the open market, they are putting their own money at risk — and they usually have a good reason for doing so.

How to Read Form 4 Filings

Each Form 4 filing on ChartingLens is broken down into the key data points you need to make a decision. Here is what each field means and why it matters.

• Transaction Type — Was it a purchase (P) or a sale (S)? Purchases on the open market are the most meaningful because the insider is choosing to buy with their own capital. Option exercises and planned sales under 10b5-1 plans are less informative.
• Insider Role — The filer's relationship to the company: CEO, CFO, Director, VP, 10% Owner, etc. C-suite purchases tend to carry more weight because these executives have the broadest view of the company's direction.
• Shares Bought or Sold — The number of shares involved in the transaction. Larger transactions represent stronger conviction. A director buying 500 shares of a $200 stock is putting $100,000 on the line.
• Transaction Price — The price per share at which the transaction occurred. This tells you the level the insider considered attractive enough to buy at (or high enough to sell at).
• Transaction Date — When the trade actually happened. The filing date may be a day or two later, but the transaction date is when the insider made the decision.
• Post-Transaction Holdings — How many shares the insider holds after the trade. This provides context — a purchase that doubles an insider's position is more meaningful than one that adds 1% to an already large holding.

Insider Cluster Detection

One insider buying is interesting. Multiple insiders buying within the same short period is a signal you should not ignore. ChartingLens automatically detects insider clusters — situations where two or more insiders at the same company file purchase transactions within a defined window.

Cluster buying is one of the strongest bullish signals in the insider data universe. When the CEO, CFO, and a board member all buy shares within the same week, it typically means there is a shared conviction that the stock is undervalued. These clusters often precede significant positive catalysts: earnings beats, contract wins, product launches, or regulatory approvals.

Position Summary & P&L Tracking

ChartingLens does not just show you raw filings — it tracks how each insider's trade has performed from the purchase date to the current price. For every insider transaction, you can see the unrealized profit or loss based on where the stock is trading now.

• Purchase Price vs Current Price — instantly see whether the insider is sitting on a gain or a loss
• Dollar P&L — the total dollar value of the gain or loss based on the number of shares purchased and the current market price
• Percentage Return — the percentage change from the insider's purchase price, making it easy to compare across different stocks and transaction sizes
• Holding Period — how long ago the insider made the purchase, giving you context on whether this is a recent conviction buy or an older position

This P&L tracking turns raw filing data into actionable intelligence. If a CEO bought 50,000 shares three months ago and is currently up 35%, that tells you the insider's thesis is playing out. If they are down 15%, you might want to investigate what has changed since their purchase.

Insider Performance Scoring & Win Rates

Not all insiders are created equal. Some corporate officers have a remarkable track record of timing their purchases, while others buy at the worst possible times. ChartingLens calculates a performance score for each insider based on their historical trading accuracy.

The scoring system evaluates every past open-market purchase made by an insider and measures the stock's performance over the following 30, 60, and 90 days. Insiders who consistently buy before rallies earn higher scores, and their future transactions carry more weight in the cluster detection algorithm.

• Win Rate — the percentage of an insider's past purchases that were profitable over a given forward period
• Average Return — the mean return across all of the insider's past purchases
• Best Trade — the single best-performing purchase in the insider's history
• Consistency — whether the insider's returns are steady or highly variable

Filtering Options

The insider trading data panel includes powerful filters so you can zero in on exactly the type of activity you are looking for.

• Buy / Sell — toggle between purchases and sales, or view both simultaneously
• Insider Role — filter by CEO, CFO, Director, VP, 10% Owner, or other roles to focus on the insiders whose opinions matter most to you
• Transaction Size — set minimum dollar thresholds to filter out small, routine transactions and focus on high-conviction trades
• Date Range — view filings from the past week, month, quarter, or a custom range
• Cluster Only — show only stocks where multiple insiders have been active in the same period

How to Use Insider Data in Your Workflow

1. 1. Screen for insider clusters. Start your research by checking the insider data panel for any recent cluster activity. Multiple insiders buying the same stock is the highest-signal event to look for.
2. 2. Check the insider's track record. Before acting on any filing, review the insider's historical performance score. An insider with a 70%+ win rate buying again is more compelling than a first-time buyer with no track record.
3. 3. Cross-reference with the chart. Pull up the stock's chart and check the technical setup. Insider buying near a support level or after a pullback to a key moving average is a much stronger setup than buying into an extended rally.
4. 4. Check the CL Score. Combine insider activity with ChartingLens's proprietary technical rating. Insider buying plus a high CL Score is a powerful confluence of fundamental and technical bullishness.
5. 5. Set alerts. If the price is not at your desired entry, set a price alert and wait for the stock to come to you. Insider data gives you the conviction; the alert system gives you the discipline.

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