Methodology

This page explains where the data on InsiderAction.io comes from, how often it is updated, and exactly how each metric is calculated, so you can judge for yourself how much weight to give it. If you spot an error, please tell us.

Data Source

Every transaction comes from SEC Form 4 filings published on the SEC's EDGAR system. We read the machine-readable XML version of each filing and store every transaction line: the insider, their role, the transaction code, the number of shares, the price, the shares held afterwards and the type of holding (direct, or indirect such as through a trust).

We store two dates for every filing: the trade date reported on the form, and the date the SEC received the filing, taken from EDGAR's filing indexes. Tables and charts are ordered by trade date; “new” and “recent” labels use the filing date, so a late filing about an older trade still shows up as news.

Filings are linked to a company through its SEC identifier (CIK) and the company's primary ticker. Companies without a listed ticker (private companies, most funds) are not included.

Update Schedule

• Every two hours on weekdays during U.S. market hours, from EDGAR's live feed of new filings.
• Twice a day, every day, a full pass over EDGAR's daily filing indexes for the past seven days, which catches anything the live feed missed.
• Daily, a refresh of industry streaks and of the statistics shown in our guides.
• Weekly, a two-week catch-up pass, a refresh of post-trade returns, and recalculated Insider Signal Scores.

Insiders must file within two business days of a trade, but many file later. A transaction can therefore appear on the site days or occasionally weeks after it happened.

From Transaction Lines to Filings

A single Form 4 often reports one trade as many lines, for example a sale executed in ten lots at slightly different prices. We group lines by filing, insider and transaction code and show them as one row with the total shares, total value and average price. Shares held afterwards are the final balance of each holding reported in the filing, added up across holdings.

Unless you choose otherwise, lists show open market purchases (code P) and sales (code S), the two codes that reflect a voluntary decision to buy or sell. Grants, option exercises, tax withholding and gifts are available in the transaction database. Our transaction codes guide explains every code.

Preferred shares, warrants, units and rights are excluded from company lists, and lines with impossible values (for example a price or total value far outside any plausible range, usually a typing error in the original filing) are skipped.

Sectors and Industries

Companies are grouped into 11 sectors and their industries using GICS-style classifications. S&P 500 members use their published GICS classification; other companies are mapped from Yahoo Finance sector and industry data to the closest GICS sector and industry. Classifications for smaller companies are therefore approximate.

Post-Trade Returns

For each purchase and sale we measure the share price change 3 months (90 calendar days) and 12 months (365 days) after the trade date, using daily closing prices. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday we use the nearest trading day within five days. Returns are price returns; dividends are not included.

Insider Signal Score (ISS)

The Insider Signal Score rates how well an insider's past open market trades turned out. An insider needs at least three open market trades to receive a score. A purchase counts as a win if the price rose afterwards; a sale counts as a win if the price fell. The score combines four parts:

• Win rate (35%): share of winning trades, weighting 12-month results 60% and 3-month results 40%.
• Average return (25%): the average return in the direction of the trade, with the same 60/40 weighting. Single returns are capped at 100% so one extreme trade cannot dominate.
• Conviction (20%): 12-month returns weighted by how much each trade changed the insider's holding, so large bets count more than token ones.
• Confidence (20%): rises with the number of scored trades, reaching its maximum at ten. A short record cannot earn a top score.

The score describes past results only. It does not predict future trades.

Cluster Buys

A cluster is two or more different insiders at the same company making open market purchases with trade dates in the last 30 days. Clusters are recalculated from the latest data whenever the page refreshes, at least hourly. See the cluster buying guide for why they matter.

Industry Buying Streaks

For each industry we add up the value of insider purchases and sales per calendar month over the last five years. A streak is three or more consecutive months in which purchases exceeded sales. A streak counts as active if its latest month is the current or previous month.

Which Pages Are Indexed

Company and insider pages are only offered to search engines when they have at least three priced open market trades, at least one in the last two years, excluding special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and secondary share classes. Pages below that bar stay available on the site but are marked not to be indexed, because there is too little activity to say anything useful.

Known Limitations

• Form 4 data is only as accurate as what insiders file. Errors and amendments in the original filings carry through until they are corrected with the SEC.
• Filings for companies without a listed ticker are not included.
• Holdings shown are what each Form 4 reports. They do not include holdings reported on other forms.
• Sector and industry classifications for companies outside the S&P 500 are approximate.
• Nothing on this site is investment advice. See our disclaimer.