Free, no-signup guides to SEC insider filings and the signals behind them, written from the live Form 4 dataset InsiderAlpha tracks.
SEC Form 4 is filed within 2 business days when corporate insiders - directors, officers, and 10% owners - buy or sell company stock. Learn how to read Form 4, what the transaction codes mean, and why insider buying is a signal.
Updated
A Form 4 packs an insider trade into a header, two tables, and footnotes. What every box means - relationship checkboxes, transaction codes, the (A)/(D) flag, direct vs indirect ownership - walked through on a real 2026 CEO purchase, with the EDGAR document open beside it.
Updated
Every Form 4 transaction carries a one-letter code. P and S are open-market trades, A is an award, M an option exercise, F a tax withholding. Full reference of all SEC transaction codes and which ones actually matter as trading signals.
Published
SEC Form 4 must be filed within two business days of an insider transaction. Learn exactly when the clock starts, what counts as a business day, the rare exceptions, and what happens when insiders file late.
Published
Form 3 declares an insider's initial holdings, Form 4 reports transactions within two business days, and Form 5 is the annual catch-up. What each form covers, its deadline, and which ones are worth watching.
Published
SEC Form 4 reports completed insider transactions; Form 144 is a notice of intent to sell restricted or control stock. Learn how the two forms differ, why a Form 144 is not yet a sale, and how to use them together.
Updated
Form 4 splits trades into non-derivative (Table I) and derivative (Table II) securities. Learn the difference between an open-market purchase, an option exercise, and an award - and which ones actually signal conviction.
Published
An 8-K is the SEC filing companies must submit within four business days of a material event: CEO departures, M&A, earnings, bankruptcies, data breaches. What each item code means and how traders use 8-Ks as catalysts.
Published
Every 8-K event slots into a numbered item - 2.02 is earnings, 5.02 is executive changes, 4.02 is a restatement. The full item reference, which items are furnished vs filed, and how often each one actually appears across 29,000+ real filings.
Updated
Not all insider buys are equal. Learn which Form 4 purchases matter most: officer vs 10% owner buys, cluster buying, purchase size relative to pay, and how to filter Rule 10b5-1 plan trades from opportunistic conviction buys.
Updated
Cluster buying - multiple insiders purchasing the same stock within a short window - is one of the most predictive signals in the SEC Form 4 dataset. Learn what defines a cluster, the academic evidence, and how InsiderAlpha scores it.
Updated
Insider buying is one of the few legal information edges available to outside investors - but only certain buys are bullish. Here is what the academic research shows, and when an insider purchase is (and isn't) a signal.
Published
Insider selling is far noisier than insider buying - executives sell for taxes, diversification, and liquidity. Learn when a Form 4 sale is meaningful and when it is just calendar-driven noise, with the transaction codes and checkboxes that tell them apart.
Updated
A CEO open-market purchase is the most-watched insider signal: the best-informed person at the company converting personal cash into exposure. What the research says, how to separate signal from PR, and where to see CEO buys today.
Published
How much of a company its insiders own - and whether that stake is growing - changes how you read every Form 4. Typical ranges by company size, why very high and very low ownership both cut both ways, and how to check it.
Published
We analyzed every SEC Form 4 since December 2022: how fast insiders really file, how much they sell for every dollar they buy, how often executives buy in clusters, and when filings actually hit EDGAR.
Published
Rule 10b5-1 lets corporate insiders pre-schedule stock trades, providing a legal defense against insider-trading claims. Learn how the plans work, the 2023 SEC reforms, and why these trades carry less information than opportunistic purchases.
Updated
Most companies bar insiders from trading in the weeks before earnings - but blackout windows are company policy, not SEC law. How trading windows work, the one blackout that is statutory, and why so many insider buys land right after earnings.
Updated
Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act governs how corporate insiders report trades (Forms 3, 4, 5) and disgorge short-swing profits. Learn who counts as a Section 16 insider and what each form means.
Published
Section 16(b) forces corporate insiders to surrender any profit from buying and selling their company's stock within six months - no intent required. How matching works, the exemptions, and what it means for reading Form 4 data.
Published
A 10% owner is any person or entity that beneficially owns more than 10% of a company's stock - making them a Section 16 insider who must file Form 4. Learn why their trades matter and how they differ from officer and director buys.
Published
Cross 5% of a public company and you must file a Schedule 13D (active intent) or 13G (passive stake). What each form signals, the post-2024 filing deadlines, when a 13G must convert to a 13D, and how both relate to Form 4.
Updated
Insiders legally buy and sell their own company's stock every day - it becomes a crime only when trades are based on material non-public information. Where the legal line sits, and why the legal kind is a public dataset anyone can follow.
Published
UPS, Victoria's Secret, Coinbase, Sunbelt Rentals - which are actually public companies? How to check any company's listing status for free using SEC EDGAR and ticker search, plus quick answers for the names people ask about most.
Published
Ticker symbols are the short codes stocks trade under - but IBRX, VLTO, or FSCO tell you nothing by themselves. How tickers are assigned, why they change after spin-offs and mergers, and how to look up any unfamiliar symbol in seconds.
Published
Who owns Alaska Air, Zions, or KBR? Public companies are owned by their shareholders - but the interesting question is which ones. Where to find insider stakes, institutional holders, and parent-brand relationships in SEC filings, free.
Published
What does Entegris make? What is FMC Corp, or Oklo, or Veralto? How to answer 'what does this company actually do' for any stock using the 10-K, plus where official employee counts live and what insider filings add.
Published
SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) has filed a Form S-1 to go public under the ticker SPCX. Here's what the SEC filing shows, what isn't disclosed yet, and how to follow the IPO.
Published