undamentalytics Newsletter

Themelis Nicholas: insider trades

Officer at Marketaxess Holdings Inc. No open-market purchases and 22 sales not made under a pre-set plan, reported from February 26, 2010 to August 12, 2021.

What happened after Themelis Nicholas’s sales?

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); 32% 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

Themelis Nicholas: 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 22 +0.2% +2.2% 36% 12 0.33 0.74 No reliable evidence
Sales, 12 months after the report 22 +20.9% +16.1% 32% 12 1.77 0.10 No reliable evidence
Sales, 12 months after the trade 22 +20.5% +16.4% 32% 12 1.73 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
Marketaxess Holdings Inc MKTX Chief Information Officer022February 26, 2010August 12, 2021

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
August 12, 2021August 11, 2021 MKTX Sale $2,976,555 −21.6%−37.3%−38.0%
June 15, 2021June 14, 2021 MKTX Sale $3,140,470 −11.6%−30.5%−30.0%
October 30, 2020October 29, 2020 MKTX Sale $9,575,408 −11.4%−65.8%−67.2%
April 29, 2019April 26, 2019 MKTX Sale $395,493 +18.2%+63.4%+65.0%
August 16, 2018August 14, 2018 MKTX Sale $2,393,145 +15.1%+96.2%+95.1%
March 12, 2018March 9, 2018 MKTX Sale $1,177,786 −4.8%+0.9%+3.8%
November 3, 2017November 2, 2017 MKTX Sale $705,600 +4.6%+8.1%+14.7%
June 12, 2017June 9, 2017 MKTX Sale $1,123,931 −15.3%−9.9%−7.8%
February 10, 2017February 9, 2017 MKTX Sale $1,970,083 −4.3%−13.9%−14.6%
August 23, 2016August 22, 2016 MKTX Sale $1,025,507 +0.8%+1.8%+3.2%
February 4, 2016February 3, 2016 MKTX Sale $1,215,295 +8.0%+55.5%+44.9%
February 10, 2015February 9, 2015 MKTX Sale $799,108 +4.7%+42.1%+42.6%
August 22, 2014August 21, 2014 MKTX Sale $633,380 +1.8%+55.2%+63.1%
November 21, 2013November 19, 2013 MKTX Sale $1,878,805 −18.4%−24.5%−22.7%
May 20, 2013May 16, 2013 MKTX Sale $780,130 +16.4%+5.2%+2.6%
December 14, 2012December 13, 2012 MKTX Sale $1,345,988 +4.9%+65.7%+75.0%
December 12, 2012December 10, 2012 MKTX Sale $1,572,591 +8.3%+75.0%+70.3%
June 13, 2012June 11, 2012 MKTX Sale $1,501,777 −6.0%+40.1%+32.0%
November 8, 2011November 4, 2011 MKTX Sale $2,800,163 +6.0%−5.6%−2.9%
March 9, 2011March 7, 2011 MKTX Sale $664,540 +5.7%+62.0%+55.7%
November 15, 2010November 12, 2010 MKTX Sale $462,750 +2.7%+51.2%+49.0%
February 26, 2010February 24, 2010 MKTX Sale $227,501 +0.9%+24.0%+18.2%

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