undamentalytics Newsletter

Oconnell Maureen: insider trades

Chief financial officer, Director at 2 companies we cover. 1 open-market purchase and 12 sales not made under a pre-set plan, reported from March 21, 2012 to September 4, 2026.

Would copying Oconnell Maureen’s purchases have beaten the S&P 500?

Too few purchases to judge. None of their purchases has 12 months of prices after the report; we judge insiders once they have 20. The figures below can swing a long way on a handful of trades. After their sales, the shares moved −20.9% against the index over 12 months on average (a negative figure means selling was the right call); 90% trailed it. None of their purchases could be priced, so there is no copy portfolio.

With 296 insiders tested, some will look skilled or unskilled by chance alone: when we replaced each insider’s stocks with random companies bought on the same days, about 5.7 cleared the bar ahead and 23.3 behind. One record on its own proves little.

Trade by trade

Oconnell Maureen: trades against the S&P 500 afterwards
MeasuredTrades countedAverage vs S&P 500MedianWent the right wayYearst-statisticp-valueEvidence
Purchases, 3 months after the report 0 — — — — — — Not enough years
Purchases, 6 months after the report 0 — — — — — — Not enough years
Purchases, 12 months after the report 0 — — — — — — Not enough years
Purchases, 12 months after the trade 0 — — — — — — Not enough years
Sales, 3 months after the report 10 −9.1% −8.9% 90% 6 −3.14 0.026 Some evidence: seller right
Sales, 12 months after the report 10 −20.9% −21.3% 90% 6 −2.26 0.073 No reliable evidence
Sales, 12 months after the trade 10 −19.8% −19.9% 90% 6 −2.39 0.063 No reliable evidence

“Average vs S&P 500” is the stock’s return including dividends minus the index’s over the same dates, from the close on the first trading day after the report, or from the close on the trade date. Only windows that have finished are counted. For sales, a negative figure means the stock lagged after it was sold, so selling was the right call (green). “Went the right way” is the share of purchases that beat the index, or of sales that trailed it. The t-statistic uses one average per year of reports, because one person’s trades bunch into the same stock and weeks, and needs trades in at least four different years; the p-value comes from the t distribution with that number of years (with four years, a t of 2 has p = 0.14). “Some evidence” means p under 5%, “strong evidence” p under 1% over at least six years.

Companies traded

CompanyTitle on the latest filingPurchasesSalesFirst reportLatest report
Scholastic Corp SCHL EVP, CAO & CFO010March 21, 2012January 6, 2017
Acacia Research Corp ACTG —12September 8, 2020September 4, 2026

Trades and what followed

Moves are against the S&P 500; green means the trade went the insider’s way.

ReportedTradedCompanyTradeValue3 months after report12 months after report12 months after trade
September 4, 2026September 2, 2026 ACTG Sale $152,042 not yetnot yetnot yet
August 20, 2026August 19, 2026 ACTG Sale $46,000 not yetnot yetnot yet
September 8, 2020September 4, 2020 ACTG Purchase $94,365 not yetnot yetnot yet
January 6, 2017January 4, 2017 SCHL Sale $392,127 −11.7%−37.2%−37.2%
December 21, 2016December 20, 2016 SCHL Sale $461,424 −14.5%−35.2%−36.0%
December 20, 2016December 19, 2016 SCHL Sale $1,598,447 −16.2%−36.4%−34.5%
August 5, 2015August 3, 2015 SCHL Sale $2,011,669 −5.0%−11.8%−8.4%
August 3, 2015July 30, 2015 SCHL Sale $1,426,013 −4.6%−10.0%−8.4%
April 29, 2015April 28, 2015 SCHL Sale $4,000,000 +4.5%−10.1%−7.6%
August 12, 2014August 11, 2014 SCHL Sale $218,040 −6.3%+11.1%+8.4%
December 30, 2013December 26, 2013 SCHL Sale $672,800 −1.3%−4.5%−6.2%
October 3, 2012October 2, 2012 SCHL Sale $1,218,851 −11.6%−30.7%−31.4%
March 21, 2012March 19, 2012 SCHL Sale $3,577,830 −24.8%−43.7%−36.8%

Open-market purchases and sales of at least $10,000 in companies we cover, from SEC Form 4 filings; sales made under a pre-set Rule 10b5-1 plan are not shown. “Not yet” means the window has not finished or the share price was under $5 at entry. These are the shares’ moves after each trade: they say nothing about why Oconnell Maureen traded and do not suggest the use of non-public information. How every insider compares · the insider trading backtest.