Form 4
Also known as: insider trading filing · statement of changes
DEFINITION
Form 4 is the SEC filing every officer, director, and 10% owner must submit within 2 business days of a change in their beneficial ownership. It reports the transaction type using SEC transaction codes (P = open-market purchase, S = sale, M = option exercise, F = tax withholding, G = gift), the share count, price, and resulting position.
WHY IT MATTERS FOR RETAIL INVESTORS
Form 4 is the single most-watched insider signal. A real open-market purchase (code P) is rare and historically a bullish signal — insiders rarely buy without conviction. Sales (code S) are noisier because of pre-scheduled 10b5-1 plans, vesting, and diversification. Read the transaction code first; price and size second. A cluster of P-coded buys across multiple insiders is the gold-standard signal.
How to Read a Form 4: Decoding Insider Transactions →
Every Form 4 transaction code explained — P (purchase), S (sale), M (option exercise), F (tax), G (gift). Plus 10b5-1 vs discretionary trades, cluster signals, and red flags.
OFFICIAL SEC SOURCE
https://www.sec.gov/about/forms/form4.pdf ↗RELATED TERMS
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