Monday, August 31, 2009

Insider Selling in August Soars to 30.6 Times Insider Buying,

From TrimTabs press release:

SAUSALITO, Calif., Aug. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- TrimTabs Investment Research reported that selling by corporate insiders in August has surged to $6.1 billion, the highest amount since May 2008. The ratio of insider selling to insider buying hit 30.6, the highest level since TrimTabs began tracking the data in 2004.

"The best-informed market participants are sending a clear signal that the party on Wall Street is going to end soon," said Charles Biderman, CEO of TrimTabs.

TrimTabs' data on insider transactions is based on daily filings of Form 4, which corporate officers, directors, and major holders are required to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a research note, TrimTabs explained that insider activity is not the only sign the rally is about to end. The TrimTabs Demand Index, which tracks 18 fund flow and sentiment indicators, has turned very bearish for the first time since March.

For example, short interest on NYSE stocks plummeted by 10.3% in the second half of July and margin debt on all US listed stocks spiked 5.9% in July, while 51.6% of advisors surveyed by Investors Intelligence are bullish, the highest level since December 2007.

"When corporate insiders are bailing, the shorts are covering and investors are borrowing to buy, it generally pays to be a seller rather than a buyer of stock," said Biderman....MORE

Here are the conditions that the TrimTabs minions have to endure, from our post "Obama Stimulus Slow to Buoy ‘Real Economy’ as Marin Awaits Cash":

Pity poor Marin. Caught between Sonoma and San Francisco.
Scraping by on a median income of $83,870 (highest in Cali.).
The squalor of Sausalito:


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Image from Geoffrey Mainland

Okay, sarc off....