Corporate Insiders Were Dumping Stocks Into July’s Record Rally

Investors across Wall Street eagerly piled into US stocks in July, sending the S&P 500 Index to 10 all-time highs in a month, but a notable group was heading in the opposite direction: corporate executives.

Insiders at just 151 S&P 500 companies bought their own stocks last month, the fewest since at least 2018, according to data compiled by the Washington Service. And while July’s selling by corporate insiders slowed from June’s pace, purchases dropped even more, pushing the ratio of buying-to-selling to the lowest level in a year, the data shows.