undamentalytics Newsletter

Balmuth Michael: insider trades

Chief executive, Officer at Ross Stores. No open-market purchases and 20 sales not made under a pre-set plan, reported from February 10, 2010 to March 19, 2019.

What happened after Balmuth Michael’s sales?

After their sales, the shares moved +21.3% against the index over 12 months on average (a negative figure means selling was the right call); 25% trailed it.

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

Balmuth Michael: 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 20 +4.8% +8.4% 30% 8 0.79 0.45 No reliable evidence
Sales, 12 months after the report 20 +21.3% +19.4% 25% 8 1.47 0.19 No reliable evidence
Sales, 12 months after the trade 20 +22.5% +21.8% 25% 8 1.82 0.11 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
Ross Stores ROST Chairman, Executive020February 10, 2010March 19, 2019

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
March 19, 2019March 15, 2019 ROST Sale $1,781,463 +9.2%−14.9%−3.4%
June 1, 2018May 31, 2018 ROST Sale $2,689,321 +9.4%+10.5%+14.6%
March 20, 2018March 16, 2018 ROST Sale $1,973,943 +9.7%+11.6%+15.8%
March 14, 2018March 12, 2018 ROST Sale $4,574,734 +8.8%+15.2%+17.0%
March 16, 2017March 14, 2017 ROST Sale $3,445,719 −13.8%−1.2%−2.9%
March 28, 2016March 24, 2016 ROST Sale $7,773,914 −3.3%−2.8%−1.3%
March 18, 2016March 16, 2016 ROST Sale $1,490,923 −9.1%−3.0%−2.9%
March 5, 2014March 3, 2014 ROST Sale $10,854,483 −8.0%+34.5%+31.2%
March 21, 2012March 19, 2012 ROST Sale $14,425,889 +20.2%−9.9%−6.8%
April 25, 2011April 21, 2011 ROST Sale $1,894,482 +7.9%+63.3%+62.7%
January 11, 2011January 10, 2011 ROST Sale $5,024,000 +9.2%+58.7%+54.5%
October 13, 2010October 12, 2010 ROST Sale $1,483,840 +4.4%+46.0%+48.6%
September 9, 2010September 8, 2010 ROST Sale $3,458,000 +14.4%+37.6%+36.5%
September 8, 2010September 7, 2010 ROST Sale $652,875 +12.9%+37.0%+36.1%
June 9, 2010June 8, 2010 ROST Sale $1,385,800 −11.8%+15.8%+21.6%
May 28, 2010May 27, 2010 ROST Sale $1,374,360 −2.5%+29.5%+34.0%
April 14, 2010April 12, 2010 ROST Sale $1,457,820 +6.2%+17.2%+14.4%
March 11, 2010March 9, 2010 ROST Sale $1,366,200 +13.3%+21.5%+22.1%
February 22, 2010February 18, 2010 ROST Sale $113,697 +12.7%+29.7%+29.8%
February 10, 2010February 8, 2010 ROST Sale $3,958,500 +6.9%+30.6%+28.4%

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 Balmuth Michael traded and do not suggest the use of non-public information. How every insider compares · the insider trading backtest.