Which filings we actually read

What we screen out

Most Form 4 activity is procedural, and treating it as a signal is the single most common mistake in this corner of financial media.

• 10b5-1 plan sales. Arranged months in advance, executed automatically. They tell you almost nothing about what the seller thinks today.
• Option exercises and same-day sales. Compensation being converted to cash, not a view on valuation.
• Tax withholding. Shares surrendered automatically when a grant vests. The insider did not choose to sell.
• Routine grants and awards. Someone was paid in stock. That is a payroll event.

How a filing earns a write-up

1. Filter. Strip out plan sales, exercises, withholding, and grants. What remains is a small fraction of the total.
2. Weigh. Size the trade against the insider’s existing position, their pay, and their history of trading.
3. Corroborate. Check whether anyone else at the company did the same thing in the same window.
4. Explain. Set it against what was actually happening at the business — results, guidance, financing, or a fallen share price.

What each issue contains

• The filings worth a second look, with the procedural noise already removed
• Who the person is, what they do, and what they already owned
• How the trade compares in size to their holding and their compensation
• Whether the activity was isolated or clustered
• The case for reading nothing into it — stated honestly, because it is often the right reading
• Full disclosure of any compensation connected to the company