US stock futures edged lower this morning after Wall Street closed a volatile January with steep losses. Investors, meanwhile, focused on some notable insider trades.
When insiders sell shares, it indicates their concern in the company’s prospects or that they view the stock as being overpriced. Either way, this signals an opportunity to go short on the stock. Insider sales should not be taken as the only indicator for making an investment or trading decision. At best, it can lend conviction to a selling decision.
Below is a look at a few recent notable insider sales. For more, check out Benzinga's insider transactions platform.
Airbnb
- The Trade: Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) Director Belinda Johnson disposed a total of 20,000 shares at an average price of $143.48. The insider received $2.87 million as a result of the transaction.
- What’s Happening: Gordon Haskett recently downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold.
- What Airbnb Does: Started in 2008, Airbnb is the world's largest online alternative accommodation travel agency, also offering booking services for boutique hotels and experiences.
Electronic Arts
- The Trade: Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) CEO and Director Andrew Wilson sold a total of 10,000 shares at an average price of $131.01. The insider received $1.31 million from selling those shares.
- What’s Happening: Electronic Arts named Chris Suh as Chief Financial Officer.
- What Electronic Arts Does: EA is one of the world's largest third-party video game publishers and has transitioned from a console-based video game publisher to the one of the largest publishers on consoles, PC, and mobile.
Also check out this: Executives buy more than $600 million of 3 stocks
Capital One Financial
- The Trade: Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) General Counsel Matthew Cooper sold a total of 6,767 shares at an average price of $146.82. The insider received $993.53 thousand as a result of the transaction.
- What’s Happening: The company recently posted upbeat quarterly results.
- What Capital One Financial Does: Capital One is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia. Originally a spin-off of Signet Financial's credit card division in 1994, the company is now primarily involved in credit card lending, auto loans, and commercial lending.
Mastercard
- The Trade: Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) President, Operations & Tech McLaughlin Edward Grunde sold a total of 15,310 shares at an average price of $360.26. The insider received $5.52 million from selling those shares. The insider also acquired a total of 6912 shares.
- What’s Happening: Mastercard recently reported better-than-expected Q4 results.
- What Mastercard Does: Mastercard is the second- largest payment processor in the world, having processed $4.8 trillion in purchase transactions during 2020. Mastercard operates in over 200 countries and processes transactions in over 150 currencies.
AAR
- The Trade: AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) Director David Storch sold a total of 8,693 shares at an average price of $40.44. The insider received around $351.54 thousand from selling those shares.
- What’s Happening: AAR, in December, reported worse-than-expected Q2 E results.
- What AAR Does: AAR Corp is engaged in providing products and services to aviation, government, and defense market. It operates in two segments namely Aviation Services and Expeditionary Services.
