Insider Ownership Guides Investors Amid Market Highs

Global and U.S. equity markets are at or near record highs as investors react to hopes for Fed rate cuts, U.S.–China trade optimism and solid corporate earnings, with small-cap indices like the Russell 2000 outperforming. Investors are focusing on companies with high insider ownership or recent insider buying as signals of management confidence, but those signals must be weighed against mixed profitability, heavy debt, impairment charges and valuation risks. ETF data show insider activity is material: the Fidelity MSCI Health Care Index ETF (FHLC) had 20.1% of its weighted holdings with insider buys in the past six months, and public Form 4 purchases have been reported at names including Centene and Clover Health. U.S. examples include Hanmi Financial, which reported stronger quarterly net income, executed $12.21 million of share repurchases and showed recent insider purchases supporting a positive outlook; screeners also flag names such as Fortrea, Callan JMB, Celcuity and Chrysos. European examples are mixed — Plejd and Bittium show robust growth prospects and insider alignment while others have recent insider selling or stretched valuations; Gofore posts revenue growth and a buyback program but faces margin pressure. In Australia, Catapult Sports, newly added to the S&P/ASX 200, completed an A$130 million follow-on and projects rapid earnings growth despite valuation concerns, underscoring that insider buying is a useful but not definitive signal alongside fundamentals, governance and valuation analysis.