undamentalytics Newsletter

Black Archie C.: insider trades

Chief executive at SPS Commerce Inc. No open-market purchases and 32 sales not made under a pre-set plan, reported from April 29, 2010 to February 19, 2019.

What happened after Black Archie C.’s sales?

After their sales, the shares moved +5.2% against the index over 12 months on average (a negative figure means selling was the right call); 50% 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

Black Archie C.: 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 32 +7.3% +8.3% 34% 10 0.89 0.39 No reliable evidence
Sales, 12 months after the report 32 +5.2% −2.5% 50% 10 0.53 0.61 No reliable evidence
Sales, 12 months after the trade 32 +7.0% −7.7% 59% 10 0.61 0.55 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
SPS Commerce Inc SPSC CEO032April 29, 2010February 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
February 19, 2019February 14, 2019 SPSC Sale $854,784 −6.6%−15.4%−10.8%
August 2, 2018July 31, 2018 SPSC Sale $853,300 +8.9%+16.9%+22.8%
March 3, 2017March 1, 2017 SPSC Sale $837,991 +7.5%+1.2%−0.7%
February 3, 2017February 1, 2017 SPSC Sale $1,021,180 −18.3%−44.3%−48.6%
January 5, 2017January 3, 2017 SPSC Sale $1,039,150 −21.4%−52.2%−51.3%
September 6, 2016September 1, 2016 SPSC Sale $653,165 −2.7%−30.2%−23.8%
August 3, 2016August 1, 2016 SPSC Sale $633,785 −1.1%−26.8%−25.1%
June 3, 2016June 1, 2016 SPSC Sale $560,028 +13.5%−14.3%−12.5%
May 4, 2016May 2, 2016 SPSC Sale $516,303 +19.9%−6.1%−10.7%
July 21, 2015July 17, 2015 SPSC Sale $374,500 +5.9%−21.3%−21.4%
July 17, 2015July 14, 2015 SPSC Sale $1,237,875 +6.1%−21.7%−18.0%
July 13, 2015July 9, 2015 SPSC Sale $746,170 +12.5%−18.0%−17.2%
June 24, 2015June 22, 2015 SPSC Sale $159,740 +8.4%−15.4%−19.1%
March 9, 2015March 5, 2015 SPSC Sale $679,218 −3.7%−36.4%−31.8%
March 2, 2015February 26, 2015 SPSC Sale $349,500 −6.9%−31.0%−30.5%
February 10, 2015February 6, 2015 SPSC Sale $325,000 −2.6%−29.7%−26.1%
April 3, 2014April 1, 2014 SPSC Sale $1,238,996 +4.3%+7.0%−4.6%
January 6, 2014January 2, 2014 SPSC Sale $1,697,670 −16.4%−31.1%−28.1%
August 1, 2013July 30, 2013 SPSC Sale $1,283,200 −5.4%−36.1%−33.5%
April 4, 2013April 2, 2013 SPSC Sale $439,000 +31.2%+11.0%+22.7%
March 25, 2013March 21, 2013 SPSC Sale $399,582 +24.5%+25.4%+38.8%
March 7, 2013March 5, 2013 SPSC Sale $356,634 +28.8%+51.3%+63.6%
February 15, 2013February 13, 2013 SPSC Sale $954,513 +29.2%+50.2%+53.2%
February 12, 2013February 11, 2013 SPSC Sale $197,491 +20.4%+53.2%+45.9%
May 10, 2012May 8, 2012 SPSC Sale $431,592 +11.5%+52.4%+49.2%
May 8, 2012May 4, 2012 SPSC Sale $884,800 +9.4%+48.4%+42.7%
May 4, 2012May 2, 2012 SPSC Sale $414,848 +15.1%+43.6%+53.9%
May 1, 2012April 27, 2012 SPSC Sale $237,160 +17.8%+53.9%+49.9%
October 31, 2011October 27, 2011 SPSC Sale $1,467,740 +32.9%+66.5%+74.4%
May 6, 2011May 4, 2011 SPSC Sale $270,000 +17.8%+60.2%+50.5%
May 2, 2011April 28, 2011 SPSC Sale $240,000 +8.2%+51.2%+69.9%
April 29, 2010April 27, 2010 SPSC Sale $365,401 −14.4%+4.4%−1.2%

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