“In this study we investigate whether CEOs systematically profit from sales of large blocks of their personal shares which we define as sales involving at least one percent of the firm’s market capitalization. We focus on the effectiveness of Rule 10b5-1 in limiting opportunistic sales and in the CEO- and firm- specific characteristics associated with such trades.” -- Fich, Eliezer M. and Parrino, Robert and Tran, Anh L., Timing Stock Trades for Personal Gain: Private Information and Sales of Shares by CEOs (July 10, 2015)
Company managers usually have a better idea about their company’s prospects than outside investors. And as a result, managers can be tempted to conduct opportunistic share purchases/sales based on inside information.
