How to Use Insider Trading Data to Uncover Hidden Stock Opportunities

Barchart · 06/18 08:38

When corporate executives, board members, or even members of Congress start buying or selling large amounts of stock — they’re not doing it blindly. These insiders often have access to non-public information or a deep understanding of where their business (or the economy) is headed.

And the good news? You can track these moves easily to drill down on trade opportunities.

With Barchart’s Insider Trading tools, you can decode insider activity in minutes — filtering by trade size, type, or even tracking what politicians are buying or dumping. In this guide, we’ll show you exactly how to use these tools to find your next trade idea.

What Is Insider Trading (And Why You Should Care)

First, let's be clear: We’re talking about legal insider trading — the kind that is reported to the SEC and publicly disclosed. These filings are often overlooked by retail traders, but can be powerful indicators of what's coming.

For example: If the CEO of a biotech company buys $1.2M in shares, that could mean upcoming positive trial results are expected.

If a member of Congress sells $250K in defense stocks, is new legislation coming?

These insider signals are real, trackable, and actionable.

How to Use Barchart’s Insider Trading Tools

Start by heading to Barchart’s Insider Trading Activity page.

You’ll first see a chart of recent insider transactions – buys and sells over the past 60 days. From there, use the dropdown filters to:

Focus on buys or sells
Set a minimum transaction size
Hover over volume spikes to drill down into the most active dates

Insider Trade List

Then, keep scrolling to see the detailed table of trades:

Ticker symbol
Insider name + position
Date of transaction
Value and transaction type

Click into any ticker to analyze that stock further.

Each symbol has its own Insider Trading page, where you can sort by name to see more trades organized by which insider made the transaction.

Pro Tip: Look for large cluster buys (multiple insiders buying at once). It’s one of the strongest bullish signals.

What Are Politicians Buying and Selling?

Under the “Investing” tab, go to Politician Insider Trading.

You’ll see:

A chart of recent congressional trades
Filters by chamber (House/Senate), transaction type, and value
Lists of top traders, largest trades, and search by politician

Want to see what Michael McCaul or Nancy Pelosi is buying? Type in the last name and scan the trades.

Bonus Strategy: Use Large Sells as Early Warnings

One underrated tactic? Look for large insider sells — especially from execs at companies near 52-week highs.

Sort the list by “Transaction Value,” then scan the charts.

If you see a cluster of big insider sells ahead of negative price action, it might be a warning.

You can combine:

Insider selling activity;
Bearish chart setups; and
Negative technical signals

…to stay ahead of market shakeups.

Use Flipcharts to Validate Trades with Technical Analysis

Found an insider trade you like? Don’t stop there.

Click “Flipcharts” to pull up a visual of each stock’s price action with your preferred chart template.

For example, you can:

Add Trend Seeker®
Overlay Moving Average Crossover Signals
Look for recent breakouts, pullbacks, or technical setups that confirm the insider's timing
Use Flipcharts to scan multiple trades fast, all with consistent analysis.

Learn more about Flipcharts now >>

Watch the Full Walkthrough Video

Prefer to learn by watching?

Our own Barchart pro Reynolde Jordan breaks this all down in a step-by-step YouTube video, showing you how to:

Filter insider trades by size, type, and date
Track congressional trades
Use Flipcharts for deeper technical confirmation
Spot red flags and bullish setups based on insider activity

Watch the Insider Trading Strategy video now:

Start Tracking Insider Trading Activity Now

Don’t trade blind!

Whether you’re looking for the next big breakout or trying to avoid nasty surprises, using insider data is a smart, strategic edge.

Explore Barchart's Tools:

On the date of publication, Barchart Insights did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.