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Appleton William: insider trades

Officer at E.w. Scripps Co. No open-market purchases and 11 sales not made under a pre-set plan, reported from March 9, 2010 to November 12, 2020.

What happened after Appleton William’s sales?

After their sales, the shares moved −3.7% against the index over 12 months on average (a negative figure means selling was the right call); 64% 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

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 11 −3.4% −5.7% 73% 7 −0.35 0.74 No reliable evidence
Sales, 12 months after the report 11 −3.7% −12.7% 64% 7 −0.21 0.84 No reliable evidence
Sales, 12 months after the trade 11 −2.8% −9.1% 64% 7 −0.17 0.87 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
E.w. Scripps Co SSP EVP and General Counsel011March 9, 2010November 12, 2020

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
November 12, 2020November 11, 2020 SSP Sale $240,800 +40.9%+35.7%+42.5%
March 2, 2017March 1, 2017 SSP Sale $465,800 −28.0%−56.9%−57.5%
June 12, 2015June 10, 2015 SSP Sale $244,100 −26.1%−28.4%−32.1%
May 29, 2013May 28, 2013 SSP Sale $99,701 +9.4%+24.9%+26.9%
September 5, 2012September 4, 2012 SSP Sale $215,000 −4.4%+18.7%+22.0%
August 21, 2012August 17, 2012 SSP Sale $205,000 −5.7%+32.3%+29.2%
March 15, 2011March 14, 2011 SSP Sale $92,500 −9.0%−4.2%−7.7%
November 30, 2010November 29, 2010 SSP Sale $316,220 −5.6%−16.6%−16.5%
November 19, 2010November 18, 2010 SSP Sale $53,780 −9.3%−12.7%−10.8%
September 10, 2010September 9, 2010 SSP Sale $75,000 +15.3%−13.2%−9.1%
March 9, 2010March 9, 2010 SSP Sale $236,500 −14.7%−20.2%−18.3%

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