Institution: US corporate executives are selling stocks at a near-record pace

Deep Tide TechFlow message: On July 17, U.S. corporate executives were selling stocks at the second-fastest pace in more than 20 years. For some investors, this is a classic warning sign, because it means that the people who understand a company’s operations best are taking a cautious view of the current market.

According to data from EPFR Global Market Intelligence, in the first half of 2026, U.S. corporate insiders collectively sold stocks worth $77.6 billion, up 20% from the same period last year. Over the past 20-plus years, only the selloff in 2021 was larger—when the market was driven by large-scale stimulus funds during the pandemic.

EPFR analysts including Winston Chua wrote in the report, “Insider trading behavior indicates that, at current valuation levels, corporate executives have no strong desire to increase their stock holdings.” In addition, insider buying activity remains weak. In the first half of 2026, insiders bought only $6.9 billion worth of company stock, just slightly above the $6.7 billion seven-year low set in the same period last year. (Jin10)