The rubber ball that is short-term insider sentiment has bounced yet again. Looking at the one-week sell/buy ratios from Vickers Stock Research, we'll focus initially on the Total ratio, which takes in account insider transactions on all exchanges. On a scale that is bullish below 2.00, neutral between 2.00 and 6.00, and bearish above 6.00, Vickers' Total One-Week Sell/Buy ratio rings in this week 5.33. That is at the high end of the neutral range, but follows readings of 10.25 last week (solidly bearish), 6.34 the week before that (bearish), and 9.66 the week before that (again, solidly bearish). Drilling down on an exchange basis, the results on the NYSE for the last four weeks are a bit calmer, with a currently neutral one-week ratio of 3.90 after readings of 6.25 (bearish), 6.55 (bearish), and 7.95 (a bit deeper into the bearish zone) over the previous weeks. That leaves the Nasdaq, which is indeed 800-pound gorilla in all of this. The Nasdaq one-week ratio is currently 6.46 (bearish), but follows 14.06 last week (very bearish), 6.89 the week before that (bearish), and 15.57 the week before that (again, very bearish). End of day, current insider-sentiment reading are volatile, matching the broader market -- where the VIX Volatility Index is at 18.68 as of this writing, but was as low as 14.58 on January 24 and as high as 22.51 on January 27. There are multiple catalysts impacting equity markets and insider-sentiment readings reflect that volatile state of affairs. This week, analysts at Vickers highlighted insider transactions of interest at Midland States Bancorp (NGS: MSBI) and RLI Corp. (NYSE: RLI).

AGNC Investment Corp. is a publicly traded REIT focused on residential housing. The company's investment portfolio consists of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) managed on a leveraged basis. The company uses an actively managed portfolio and hedging strategies with the goal of preserving net asset value in different interest rate scenarios.

AGNC Investment Corp. is a publicly traded REIT focused on residential housing. The company's investment portfolio consists of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) managed on a leveraged basis. The company uses an actively managed portfolio and hedging strategies with the goal of preserving net asset value in different interest rate scenarios.

The major indices are flat at midday. The 10-year Treasury note is steady at 4.26%. Oil is up 2% at $69 per barrel. GDP came in at 2.8%. This is the first or advance estimate for 3Q. The headline number is below expectations but several component numbers are positive. Consumer spending was up a whopping 6%. The PCE Price Index rose 1.5%, well below the increase in the second quarter.