The turbulent week for the U.S. stock market continues, fueled by the Trump administration’s shifting decisions on the start date for new tariffs. On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed executive actions that delay tariffs on all products from Mexico and Canada that are covered by the USMCA free trade treaty for nearly one month.
“After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA),” Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that “virtually all” of Mexico’s trade with the U.S. falls under the USMCA, writes CNN Business.
So what happened with some of the major U.S. indexes? Blue-chip companies declined by 428 points or 0.99%, the broader market index lost 1.78%, while the NASDAQ entered correction, down 10.4% from its record high on December 16.
Many analysts have recently revised their U.S. stock market predictions, suggesting that achieving strong earnings in 2025 may prove more difficult. Despite this, the broader market index is still expected to finish 2024 approximately 9% higher, although this is a decrease from the initial forecast of 12.2% made in January. Key drivers for this year include increased productivity from AI adoption and expectations of lower interest rates.
Amid market fluctuations and uncertainty, insider trading often garners considerable attention. Executives and insiders, with deep insights into their companies' strategies and outlooks, may make trades worth examining. For example, when a CEO or CFO invests their own money in company stock, it can be a strong signal of confidence in the company’s future prospects.
On the other hand, selling shares may suggest a lack of confidence from management, though this is not always the case. In some situations, large shareholders might be rebalancing their portfolios to better match their risk/reward preferences or selling for personal financial reasons. Additionally, many insiders sell shares as part of pre-arranged, automated trading plans, known as 10b5-1 plans.
Both insider buying and selling can be influenced by a range of factors, so these actions should be viewed in the context of the company’s financial health, industry trends, and overall market conditions. This underscores the importance of conducting thorough research before making investment decisions. While insider trading activity can provide valuable insights into a company’s future, it should be considered alongside other key factors to make well-informed investment choices.
Today, we’re focusing on stocks that have seen insider sales of at least $20 million since the start of the year. Using Insider Monkey’s insider trading screener, we identified stocks where at least one insider sale reached $20 million or more. While the total value of insider sales for these stocks may be higher, we focused on sales worth $20 million or more. Out of the stocks that met this criterion, we selected the 10 stocks with insider sales ranging from $20 million to $30 million, prioritizing those with the highest insider sales within this range for further analysis.
Our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds, focusing on insider trading and stock picks from hedge fund investor newsletters and conferences. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
For each stock, we provide details on the highest individual sale, the number of insider sales exceeding $20 million year-to-date, and the company’s current market capitalization. Let’s take a look at 10 stocks with at least $20 million in insider sales since the beginning of the year.
Is Antero Resources Corporation (AR) The Best Natural Gas Stock To Buy Now?
A fleet of tanker trucks transporting oil and natural gas, amidst the backdrop of open fields.
In the middle of this list of the 10 stocks with at least $20 million in insider sales recently is an independent natural gas and liquids company, operating in the Appalachian Basin. The Denver, Colorado-headquartered company is considered one of the most integrated natural gas and NGL businesses in the US and one of the biggest suppliers to the country’s LNG market.
For the full year of 2024, Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) reported revenue of $6.68 billion, compared to $4.33 billion in 2023. Net income amounted to $198.41 million, which compares to $57.23 billion in the prior year. Natural gas production averaged 2.2 Bcf/d, a decrease of 3% from the prior year, while liquids production averaged 209 MBbl/d, an increase of 8% from the prior year.
On February 19, one insider sold $28.4 million worth of Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) shares at a price of $40.57 per share. Since the beginning of the year, the stock declined 4.28% and is now trading at $33.55 per share. Over the past 12 months, Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) returned 26.70% to its investors.
According to MarketBeat, 18 analysts have an average “Moderate Buy” rating on the stock, with a 12-month price target of $39.44. The average price target suggests a 17.83% upside from the current price.
Overall AR ranks 5th among the 10 stocks with at least $20 million in insider sales recently. While we acknowledge the potential of AR as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AR but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
