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Only a handful of US chief executives made timing stock purchases this month amid panic in the tariff-induced market as trade restrictions pushed them to the sidelines.
Two chief executives of a company worth more than $5 billion when the market fell “we bought a DIP,” according to data provider VerityData. But a larger group of executives had sold their shares before the announcement of President Donald Trump’s so-called “liberation day,” including bosses from PepsiCo and Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
Insiders often buy their own shares when the market is down. However, many executives were unable to jump on cheap stocks as “liberation day” came as “liberation day” came as “liberation day”.
“Simply put, the timing of the market disruptions has not come at a bad time for insiders as the quarterly trading window is closed in most US companies,” said Ben Silverman, vice president of research at VerityData, which tracks shared transactions between regulatory executives and directors.
Some CEOs who were able to buy it saw it pay off. GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen – Popular Meme Stock – Purchased 500,000 shares on April 3 for $21.55. After the market settled, GameStop shares closed at $26.78 on April 17th.
Gary Dickerson, CEO of Applied Materials, bought 50,000 shares on April 3 for $137. This is the same as the closing price on Thursday. The board directors of Dollar Tree and Salesforce purchased approximately $500,000 and $1 million, respectively, during the sale.
“We know from academic research that corporate insiders are opposed,” said Daniel Taylor, a Wharton School accounting professor. “When there was a big drop, we saw insiders start buying at the bottom.”
In some companies, insiders have started snapping stocks quickly after the announcement of revenue. Goldman Sachs Chairman John Hess bought $2 million in shares on April 15, the day after the bank reported revenue. Purchases are extremely rare for Goldman Insiders, and the purchase of Hess marks the second mark at the bank since January 2009, Disclosures shows.
Company insiders need to disclose their transactions, and there are often trading plans to automatically sell stocks at certain times and stock prices to avoid a fall in the insider trading rules.
Trump’s election victory in November caused a surge in corporate executives for sale. As a result, insiders were generally hesitant to sell them in the first few months of 2025, as they “created a nice lump of fluidity,” Silverman said.
Microsoft has not sold its stock this year. This is the longest suspension of sale since 2022. The tech giant’s stocks have fallen nearly 12% this year.
Still, some corporate insiders sold their shares during Trump’s inauguration in January and his tariff announcement in April.
In early March, six Pepsi executives sold $18.4 million in shares when the company’s shares exceeded $150. Chief Executive Ramon Ragualta sold 50,000 shares for $7.7 million. These sales were not part of the preset trading schedule, regulatory disclosures show.
In its February 4th annual report, Pepsi added language to its risk disclosures that new US tariffs on China, Mexico, Canada and other countries could disrupt businesses.
Pepsi shares closed at $143 on Thursday, down 6% per year. Pepsi declined to comment.
In other companies, executives accelerated stock sales as part of their stock trading plans.
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Jazz Pharmaceuticals CEO Bruce Cozadd sold 6,500 shares in March, the largest deal since 2021. He sold it on March 3rd for $144, and its shares are currently trading at $103.
Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green sold more than 900,000 shares on January 22, the biggest transaction since 2021. He sold for $123 and the company’s shares are currently trading at $50.
“It is common to develop these plans to promote daily trading of corporate stocks based on a pre-specified schedule,” said Dublin-based Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
On Trade Desk, Green’s stock sales are part of the 10B5-1 plan, the company said.
Goldman Sachs, GameStop, and Applied Materials did not respond to requests for comment.
