Q3’26 Insider Activity Data: Trend Report

In this article, featuring highlights from the VerityData Q3’26 U.S. Insider Activity Review, we examine quarterly insider transaction data and identify market and sector trends in insider buying and selling. Note: This article is an excerpt of an exclusive report for VerityData customers. Data compiled October 2026.

Q3’26 Insider Activity Data: Macro Trends

Insider buying falls 18% from Q2’26

Market-wide insider buying fell 18% in Q3’26, to 1,290 buyers from 1,580 in Q2’26. Sellers totaled 4,382, down from 4,559.

Market-wide Unique Seller/Buyer Ratio rises to 3.40x

The market-wide Unique Seller to Unique Buyer Ratio climbed to 3.40x in Q3’26 from 2.89x in Q2’26, ranking in the 72nd percentile of readings since 2004 and 1.22 times the long-run average of 2.79x.

Quarterly Unique Seller/Buyer Ratio for all U.S. companies from Q1’04 to Q3’26, with the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 (tracked by SPY and IWM, indexed to 100 at Q1’04). Source: VerityData

Q3’26 Insider Activity Trends by Sector

Four sectors read above their long-run averages in Q3’26: Financial, Energy, Tech + Telecom and Healthcare. Consumer Staples, Utilities and Materials read well below.

Q3’26 Unique Seller/Buyer Ratio as a multiple of each sector’s Q1’04–Q2’26 average. Source: VerityData

Financial Insider Buying Hits a Record Low

Only 298 unique Financial-sector insiders bought stock in Q3’26, the fewest in 91 quarters of VerityData records and just below the prior low of 302 in Q3’24. Sellers, at 749, were elevated but not unusual. The sector’s Unique Seller/Buyer Ratio reached 2.51x, 2.1 times its 22-year average and the fourth-highest reading on record, behind only Q1’17 (3.16x), Q4’16 (3.06x) and Q4’24 (2.63x).

Those three quarters came during post-election bank rallies, and XLF kept rising. In all five quarters when the Financial ratio reached 2.3x or higher, XLF gained over the following year and beat the Wilshire 5000 in four. Heavy Financial insider selling has not reliably marked tops.

Unique insider buyers and sellers in the Financial sector by quarter from Q1’04 to Q3’26, with the XLF quarter-end price. Source: VerityData

Energy Insiders Sold Into the Rebound

Energy’s Unique Seller/Buyer Ratio fell from 5.76x in Q1’26, the broadest selling in 15 years, to 2.20x in Q2’26, then rose to 3.15x in Q3’26. IYE dropped 12.6% in Q2’26 and then made it all back in Q3’26, up 16.6%. Insiders used the recovery to sell again, led by refiners trading near record margins.

Energy Unique Seller/Buyer Ratio by quarter from Q1’16 to Q3’26, with the IYE quarter-end price. Source: VerityData

10 Notable Insider Trades in Q3’26

• Citizens Financial (CFG): CEO Bruce Van Saun sold $9.3M at $72.07, his first sale at the company and the largest by any CFG insider on record.
• NMI Holdings (NMIH): The CEO sold $7.7M in his most aggressive sale, cutting his stake 39%.
• Houlihan Lokey (HLI): The CFO made the first purchase by any executive in the company’s history.
• Aon (AON): The chairman bought $6.5M on weakness after the USI deal announcement.
• Uber (UBER): The CEO bought $10.0M at $70.96, his first purchase in more than four years, days after the COO bought $5.3M.
• Lennar (LEN): Berkshire Hathaway lifted its stake above 10% with a $212.4M purchase at $77.42, near a four-year low.
• Chevron (CVX): Director John Hess sold $157.4M at $194.12, including $137.7M from exercising and selling every option he held.
• PBF Energy (PBF): Quarterly selling hit a record as the CEO sold for the first time and the chairman cleared $32.6M in options at $69.54.
• Par Pacific (PARR): Seven insiders sold at ~$80.54, up from $50.91 when seven sold in Q1’26, including the former CEO’s first non-option sale ($7.3M at $81.11).
• Elastic (ESTC): Co-founder Shay Banon sold $71.1M at $93.51 after shares more than doubled off April’s $42.05 low.

What To Watch

Bank earnings under a Fed that is raising rates again. The Fed raised rates to 3.75%–4.00% in September, its first hike since 2023, while Financial insiders bought less than in any quarter on record. The big banks report October 13–14, after Bank of America’s CEO said Q3’26 trading revenue would be roughly flat year over year, well below Q2’26’s record. Bank stocks are down more than 13% from their mid-August peak. If Financial insiders keep showing a stronger-than-normal sell bias after windows reopen, the rate turn worries them more than prices reflect.

Refiners after the margin peak. The 3-2-1 crack spread fell to $64.65 on October 4 from $75.24 on October 1, after the G7 agreed to release 100 million barrels of reserves and Trump ruled out a U.S. diesel export ban. Refiner insiders sold into record margins in Q1’26 and Q3’26. A reopened Strait of Hormuz would narrow margins further, but Iran says it stays shut until its conditions are met.

Defensive sectors against rising yields. Utilities and Staples insiders sold far less than usual in Q3’26 (0.54 and 0.51 times average). With the 2-year yield at 4.78%–4.92% over the past week, the 10-year at its highest since 2002 and futures pricing three more hikes by mid-2027, watch whether those insiders keep buying if yields climb further.

About the Insider Activity Data

VerityData tracks every Form 3, 4 and 5 filed by insiders at U.S. companies. The Unique Seller/Buyer Ratio divides the number of unique insiders who sold stock in a quarter by the number who bought. Historical averages and percentiles cover Q1’04–Q2’26. Index and ETF prices are quarter-end closes, price only.