Insider trades—transactions made by executives, directors, or major shareholders—often provide valuable clues about management sentiment. A well-timed purchase may reflect confidence in future growth, while a sale can signal caution or diversification. For institutions and analysts, tracking this activity helps uncover patterns that precede shifts in valuation or momentum.

In September, five companies reported significant insider transactions that stood out both for scale and timing. Below, we highlight each case and show how to systematically track these moves using FMP's Latest Insider Trading API.

As part of FMP's Data in Action series, this article uses financial data to uncover signals that matter to portfolio strategists and research analysts.

Looking for more? Check out 5 Stocks That Consistently Beat Earnings — Track Them with the FMP API to continue exploring these insights.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)

CEO Elon Musk disclosed a nearly $1 billion open-market purchase of Tesla shares. Musk bought 2.57 million shares on September 12 at prices between $372.37 and $396.54, totaling approximately $986 million.

Shares closed more than 3% higher the following session, underscoring investor optimism around leadership alignment. Insider purchases of this size—particularly from founders—often strengthen sentiment by demonstrating long-term conviction in the company's roadmap.

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA)

Director Mark A. Stevens sold 350,000 shares at an average price of $176.39, a transaction worth roughly $61.7 million. Despite trimming exposure, Stevens retains about 35 million shares, still representing one of the largest individual holdings (valued near $6.2 billion).

The sale followed a strong multi-quarter rally and likely reflects portfolio rebalancing rather than a shift in outlook. Institutional analysts typically watch for clusters of insider sales across leadership teams, which may carry more weight than isolated trades.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE: NAT)

Founder and CEO Herbjorn Hansson bought 150,000 shares at $3.11 each—an investment of about $466,500—bringing his total ownership to 5.1 million shares. His family now controls over 10.25 million shares, the largest private stake in the company.

The purchase underscores management's belief in the shipping market's recovery and the firm's dividend-driven model. Persistent insider accumulation amid stable freight rates can be a positive signal for income-oriented investors.

Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL)

CEO Matthew Murphy acquired 13,600 shares at an average of $77.09, totaling approximately $1.05 million. The transaction increased his direct ownership to 268,637 shares.

Marvell's management team has steadily added to their positions following the company's latest product-cycle expansion in cloud and AI infrastructure chips. Insider buying during transition phases—when earnings visibility is still building—often conveys confidence in execution.

Genius Group Limited (NYSE American: GNS)

Founder and CEO Roger Hamilton, joined by board directors and executives, collectively purchased over 600,000 shares on the open market. Hamilton himself bought 500,000 shares at an average of $0.94, while the leadership team added 100,110 shares at $0.93.

The buying followed the release of first-half results and the lifting of the trading blackout period. The coordinated purchases reinforced management's conviction after months of operational restructuring and legal resolution.

Interpreting Insider Trades

Insider activity provides context—but not every trade signals opportunity. Smaller transactions often reflect routine diversification, whereas large, coordinated buys may point to fundamental conviction.

Key considerations when evaluating insider data:

1. Transaction size vs. ownership. A million-dollar trade matters less if it represents 0.1% of holdings; proportion tells the real story.
   
   
2. Insider seniority. CEO and CFO transactions carry higher predictive value than those by lower-tier officers.
   
   
3. Timing relative to catalysts. Purchases ahead of product launches, regulatory events, or earnings resets tend to draw more attention.
   
   
4. Pattern repetition. Repeated buying across quarters strengthens the signal far more than one-off actions.
   
   

For deeper methodology on weighing trade significance, this guide on analyzing insider activity provides a structured framework without overfitting signals.

Practical Application: Using FMP's Insider Trading APIs

Monitoring insider moves manually is inefficient. FMP's Latest Insider Trading API allows analysts to convert SEC disclosures into structured data streams.

Rather than scanning filings one by one, this endpoint pulls recent insider transactions with role, transaction type, share quantity, and price — allowing investors to instantly identify standout moves.

Endpoint:
https://financialmodelingprep.com/stable/insider-trading/latest?page=0&limit=100

Example Response:

[

{

"symbol": "APA",

"filingDate": "2025-02-04",

"transactionDate": "2025-02-01",

"reportingName": "Hoyt Rebecca A",

"typeOfOwner": "officer: Sr. VP, Chief Acct Officer",

"transactionType": "M-Exempt",

"securitiesTransacted": 3450,

"price": 0,

"securityName": "Common Stock"

}

]

Insider Trade Statistics API

For higher-level insights, Insider Trade Statistics API aggregates buy/sell volumes to reveal whether executives are net buyers or trimming exposure over trailing periods.

This allows analysts to step back from individual trades and instead assess trend direction — an important factor when insider sentiment gradually shifts before market consensus adjusts.

Endpoint:
https://financialmodelingprep.com/stable/insider-trading/statistics?symbol=AAPL

This endpoint provides totals and averages of insider acquisitions and dispositions, enabling researchers to gauge whether executives are net buyers or sellers over time.

Together, these endpoints, as well as many others provided by FMP, allow firms to evolve from anecdotal observation to signal-based monitoring.

Scaling Insider Trade Screens Across Teams

Individual analysts can use these APIs to monitor leadership sentiment, but the greatest value comes from institutional integration. By feeding insider data into internal research dashboards, firms gain a unified view of executive behavior across portfolios.

Portfolio managers can flag high-conviction buys, risk teams can track clusters of insider sales, and compliance functions benefit from auditable, timestamped data streams. With FMP's enterprise plan, these pipelines can be standardized, governed, and scaled globally—ensuring every desk has consistent insight into insider dynamics.

Turning Insider Activity into Actionable Signals

Individual trades don't forecast markets alone — but when placed in sequence and tied to catalysts, they become powerful sentiment markers. Tesla's leadership buying, for instance, signals alignment ahead of strategic milestones, while coordinated accumulation at Genius Group highlights conviction after restructuring progress.

By leveraging FMP's Latest Insider Trading and Insider Trade Statistics API, investors can transform scattered disclosures into structured intelligence—analyzing sentiment systematically rather than anecdotally.