Summary
Over the course of the market contraction that has been underway since mid-February, corporate executives, directors, and beneficial owners (insiders) had stayed on the sidelines. But based on data from Argus’ sister company, Vickers Stock Research, that has now changed. Looking at the major one-week sell/buy ratios from Vickers, we note that the NYSE/ASE One-Week Sell/Buy Ratio is now 1.71 on a scale where anything below 2.00 is bullish and anything above 6.00 is bearish. The ratio was as high as 8.48 just a few weeks. For the standalone NYSE, the One-Week Sell/Buy Ratio is 1.75 (again bullish) and was 9.00 a few weeks ago. For the Nasdaq, the One-Week Sell/Buy Ratio is 3.14 (neutral), but it was as high as 14.06 at the start of February. Importantly, all of the above ratios are built on meaningful transaction volume, this as insiders are free to trade again now that earnings season has ended. The bullish one-week activity has had an impact on Vickers broadest sentiment gauge, the Total (all exchanges) Eight-Week Sell/Buy Ratio. That ratio is currently 4.29, which is neutral, but was in bearish territory at 6.02 only a few weeks ago. Sure, one week does not make a trend, but it is a very good
