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This guide covers reading insider activity, the buying and selling by a company’s own executives and directors. Insider behavior can be a useful signal because insiders know their business better than anyone, but it has to be read carefully: not every transaction means what it seems to. The Skill behind this workflow is Smart Money.
This guide is about reading legally disclosed insider transactions as an investment signal. It is not about trading on material non-public information, which is illegal. Driven works only with publicly disclosed filings.

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When to use this

  • Checking whether insiders are buying or selling a name
  • Reading insider activity as a conviction signal
  • Adding an insider check to a thesis
  • Spotting unusual insider behavior

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Step 1: Pull the insider activity

Run Smart Money on [TICKER] focused on insider activity. Show recent insider buys and sells, who transacted, the size, and the context.
Example: 
Show me recent insider activity for [TICKER]. Are executives buying or selling, and is there anything unusual?

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Step 2: Separate signal from noise

Not all insider trades carry the same weight. Ask the Agent to help interpret: 
For this insider activity, what's likely meaningful versus routine? Distinguish open-market purchases from scheduled sales and option exercises.
Open-market purchases by senior executives tend to carry more signal than routine sales, which often reflect diversification or tax planning rather than a view on the stock.

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Step 3: Look for clusters

One insider buying is interesting; several buying together is more so: 
Is there any cluster of insider buying at [TICKER], where multiple insiders bought around the same time?

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Step 4: Tie it to the thesis

Does the insider behavior support or contradict the investment case for [TICKER], and how much weight should it carry?

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Common mistakes

  • Reading every sale as bearish. Insiders sell for many reasons unrelated to the outlook. Sales are weak signals.
  • Overweighting one transaction. A single trade is thin evidence. Clusters and patterns matter more.
  • Forgetting the lag. Insider transactions are disclosed after the fact; note the dates.

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Prompt variations

Find names in my watchlist with notable insider buying recently.

Show insider sentiment for [sector]: where are insiders net buyers versus net sellers?