Summary
As stock prices continue to fall, there is little in the weekly insider-sentiment data from Vickers Stock Research to suggest insiders sense opportunity. No, they are not jumping overboard — but history tells us that when insiders sense a bottom, they are quick to act. And Vickers’ data does not suggest that is yet the case. The volume of weekly insider transactions popped this week, partially as earnings season is pretty much over and most insiders are free to trade again. But even so, the jump is larger than expected, with almost 2150 transactions meeting the criteria for inclusion in Vickers’ Weekly Insider Report. That’s up from 1336 last week. So insiders have been active. On the numbers, Vickers’ Total Eight-Week Sell/Buy Ratio is now 4.96, this on a scale where the neutral range runs from 2.00 to 6.00, and anything higher is bearish. Again, there is no sign of full-on panic. But even with the S&P 500 down about 7% over the past month and the Nasdaq down about 11% in the same time, insiders are still not ‘jumping in.’ That suggests there may be more pain to come for investors. On a sector basis, buying was the greatest in Energy last week, with shares valued at $32 million bought versus $12 million sold. Buying was also notable in the Materials, la
