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Merlintrader Trading Pub
Biotech catalyst, news and analysis PDUFA tracker
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Last completed week · October 19–23, 2026
Insider Trading Weekly: The Biggest Buys And Sells
Twenty purchase groups and twenty sale groups, each verified against SEC filings. Transaction dates determine inclusion; this is not an exhaustive ranking of the entire market or a list of trading recommendations.
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The week at a glance
The verified sample contains $49,428,391 in purchases and $342,922,015 in sales. Corebridge / Nippon Life leads purchases, followed by Dole / Pale Fire Capital; Snowflake / Frank Slootman leads sales, ahead of Talos Energy / Control Empresarial de Capitales and Travelers / Alan Schnitzer. These are screened reporting groups, not a full-market ranking.
These are gross transactions reported by management, directors and significant owners. They are not net fund flows or comparable measures of conviction. IPO sales, institutional ownership changes and tax-related transactions require their own context.
$49,428,391
20 purchase groups
$342,922,015
20 sale groups
62
Distinct SEC filings
40
Verified groups
19–23 Oct
Transaction dates
24 Oct 2026
Verification date
Methodology and scope. Finviz discovery screens checked October 24 were filtered to transaction dates October 19–23; the first 30 candidate groups per side were checked against SEC filings and the 20 largest eligible groups per side are shown. Only in-period non-derivative P/A purchases and S/D sales enter totals. Awards, gifts, derivatives, option exercises and out-of-period trades are excluded. One sale entry is excluded for the reason explained below: InnSuites Hospitality Trust (IHT). Lot quantity multiplied by reported price is summed with decimal arithmetic, then rounded half up to whole dollars; aggregate totals are rounded from unrounded values. Joint owners count once. Weighted-average prices are shown to four decimals. Codes P/S can include private transactions: only an explicit source supports an open-market label. A plan checkbox or footnote supports the plan label; an absent marker does not establish discretion. This bounded discovery sample may omit larger transactions.
20 largest verified purchase groups in the sample
Transaction dates October 19–23, 2026. USD values rounded to whole dollars; quantities and weighted-average prices match the linked filings.
| # | Ticker | Insider | Role | Dates | Avg. price | Shares | Value | Context | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $CRBG | Nippon Life Insurance | 10% Owner | 2026-10-19 2026-10-20 2026-10-21 | $35.0094 | 572,563 | $20,045,116 | Reported Rule 10b5-1 plan. | SEC 1 · SEC 2 · SEC 3 |
| 2 | $DOLE | Pale Fire Capital group / Jan Barta | 10% Owner | 2026-10-20 2026-10-21 2026-10-22 | $13.1940 | 648,356 | $8,554,410 | Pale Fire Capital group; joint reporting owners counted once. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 |
| 3 | $BPRE | KAMFAR RAMIN | Director | 2026-10-19 2026-10-20 2026-10-21 | $12.3180 | 271,555 | $3,345,006 | Fund; purchases through Bluerock Asset Management. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 |
| 4 | $CTY | ARCH Venture Fund XII / Robert Nelsen | Director | 2026-10-19 | $18.0000 | 170,000 | $3,060,000 | Purchase at $18.00 at the October 19 IPO closing; ARCH Venture Fund XII and Robert Nelsen report the same shares, counted once; preferred conversion excluded. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 · SEC 2 |
| 5 | $RENT | Gateway Runway (Nexus Capital) / Michael Cohen, Daniel Flesh | Director | 2026-10-21 | $3.5500 | 632,922 | $2,246,873 | Purchase at $3.55 under the rights-offering backstop agreement (Schedule 13D/A): not an open-market purchase. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 |
| 6 | $RENT | S3 RR Aggregator (STORY3) / Peter Comisar | Director | 2026-10-21 | $3.5500 | 632,922 | $2,246,873 | Purchase at $3.55 under the rights-offering backstop agreement (Schedule 13D/A): not an open-market purchase. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 |
| 7 | $RENT | CHS US Investments | 10% Owner | 2026-10-21 | $3.5500 | 458,245 | $1,626,770 | Purchase at $3.55 under the rights-offering backstop agreement (Schedule 13D/A): not an open-market purchase. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 |
| 8 | $FBK | INGRAM ORRIN H II | Director | 2026-10-20 | $52.8795 | 29,081 | $1,537,788 | No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 |
| 9 | $TENX | ADAR1 Capital Management | 10% Owner | 2026-10-19 2026-10-20 2026-10-21 | $1.5858 | 922,849 | $1,463,426 | Funds managed by ADAR1 Capital Management. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 |
| 10 | $GF | Saba Capital Management, L.P. | 10% Owner | 2026-10-19 2026-10-20 2026-10-21 | $10.3507 | 105,131 | $1,088,177 | Fund; Saba ownership. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 · SEC 2 · SEC 3 |
| 11 | $RAPP | PAUL STEVEN M | Director | 2026-10-22 | $27.2800 | 35,714 | $974,278 | Shares held by Paul Capital Strategy III Fund (Steven Paul). No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 |
| 12 | $DSM | Saba Capital Management, L.P. | 10% Owner | 2026-10-19 2026-10-20 2026-10-21 | $5.3001 | 104,228 | $552,421 | Fund; Saba ownership. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 · SEC 2 · SEC 3 |
| 13 | $NXG | Swank Jerry V | See remarks | 2026-10-23 | $43.9493 | 10,000 | $439,493 | Closed-end fund. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 |
| 14 | $LEO | Saba Capital Management, L.P. | 10% Owner | 2026-10-19 2026-10-20 2026-10-21 | $5.7156 | 68,801 | $393,238 | Fund; Saba ownership. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 · SEC 2 · SEC 3 |
| 15 | $MXF | Saba Capital Management, L.P. | 10% Owner | 2026-10-21 2026-10-22 | $20.3889 | 18,035 | $367,715 | Fund; Saba ownership. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 · SEC 2 |
| 16 | $JOF | Saba Capital Management, L.P. | 10% Owner | 2026-10-19 | $11.9400 | 30,000 | $358,200 | Fund; Saba ownership. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 |
| 17 | $SNES | GLENBROOK CAPITAL MANAGEMENT | 10% Owner | 2026-10-19 2026-10-20 2026-10-21 2026-10-22 | $0.7072 | 480,427 | $339,780 | No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 · SEC 2 |
| 18 | $SAMG | Equinox Partners | 10% Owner | 2026-10-20 2026-10-21 2026-10-22 | $10.3077 | 28,434 | $293,089 | No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 |
| 19 | $RAPP | MARAGANORE JOHN | Director | 2026-10-22 | $26.4468 | 9,411 | $248,891 | Shares held by the John M. Maraganore Revocable Trust. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 |
| 20 | $ECF | Saba Capital Management, L.P. | 10% Owner | 2026-10-19 2026-10-20 2026-10-21 | $11.4765 | 21,509 | $246,848 | Fund; Saba ownership. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 · SEC 2 · SEC 3 |
20 largest verified sale groups in the sample
Transaction dates October 19–23, 2026. USD values rounded to whole dollars; quantities and weighted-average prices match the linked filings.
| # | Ticker | Insider | Role | Dates | Avg. price | Shares | Value | Context | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $SNOW | Slootman Frank | Director | 2026-10-19 | $316.4339 | 300,000 | $94,930,176 | Reported Rule 10b5-1 plan. | SEC 1 |
| 2 | $TALO | Control Empresarial de Capitales | Reporting group (see Ex. 99.1) | 2026-10-19 | $18.0066 | 2,141,590 | $38,562,754 | Control Empresarial de Capitales reporting group. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 |
| 3 | $TRV | Schnitzer Alan D | Chairman and CEO | 2026-10-21 | $396.7736 | 88,900 | $35,273,172 | Sale after a same-day option exercise; only the sale legs counted. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 |
| 4 | $UTHR | ROTHBLATT MARTINE A | Chairperson & CEO | 2026-10-19 2026-10-20 2026-10-21 2026-10-22 | $560.1603 | 38,000 | $21,286,091 | Sale leg counted; option exercise excluded. Reported Rule 10b5-1 plan. | SEC 1 · SEC 2 · SEC 3 · SEC 4 |
| 5 | $ALMR | Qiming funds | 10% Owner | 2026-10-19 2026-10-20 2026-10-21 2026-10-22 | $28.9269 | 560,138 | $16,203,078 | Qiming funds. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 · SEC 2 |
| 6 | $SNOW | Dageville Benoit | Director | 2026-10-21 | $321.7400 | 50,000 | $16,087,000 | Reported Rule 10b5-1 plan. | SEC 1 |
| 7 | $TRV | Toczydlowski Gregory C | EVP & President, Business Ins. | 2026-10-22 | $403.8937 | 34,771 | $14,043,788 | Sale after a same-day option exercise; only the sale legs counted. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 |
| 8 | $INNV | TCO Group Holdings (Apax / WCAS) | 10% Owner | 2026-10-21 | $9.2500 | 1,500,000 | $13,875,000 | TCO Group Holdings sale in the over-allotment option of an underwritten offering; Apax and WCAS filers counted once: not an open-market sale. No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 · SEC 2 · SEC 3 |
| 9 | $BRZE | Hyman Jonathan | Chief Technology Officer | 2026-10-20 | $45.3300 | 285,000 | $12,919,050 | Reported Rule 10b5-1 plan. | SEC 1 |
| 10 | $LIND | Lindblad Sven-Olof | Director | 2026-10-19 2026-10-20 2026-10-21 2026-10-22 | $35.4461 | 324,489 | $11,501,876 | Reported Rule 10b5-1 plan. | SEC 1 · SEC 2 |
| 11 | $CVX | Pate R. Hewitt | Chief Legal Officer | 2026-10-19 2026-10-20 | $226.5950 | 43,100 | $9,766,243 | Reported Rule 10b5-1 plan. | SEC 1 |
| 12 | $CRWD | Kurtz George | President and CEO | 2026-10-19 2026-10-20 2026-10-21 2026-10-22 | $232.9951 | 40,000 | $9,319,805 | Reported Rule 10b5-1 plan. | SEC 1 · SEC 2 |
| 13 | $ANET | Duda Kenneth | President and CTO | 2026-10-20 | $180.9128 | 43,333 | $7,839,496 | Reported Rule 10b5-1 plan. | SEC 1 |
| 14 | $ROIV | Venker Eric | President & Immunovant CEO | 2026-10-20 | $35.1133 | 200,000 | $7,022,668 | Reported Rule 10b5-1 plan. | SEC 1 |
| 15 | $BROS | Boersma Travis | Executive Chairman of Board | 2026-10-20 | $44.0080 | 145,687 | $6,411,393 | Reported Rule 10b5-1 plan. | SEC 1 |
| 16 | $GTLB | Sijbrandij Sytse | Director | 2026-10-19 | $53.2735 | 116,200 | $6,190,375 | Reported Rule 10b5-1 plan. | SEC 1 |
| 17 | $TRV | OLIVO MARIA | EVP, ERM & Chief Risk Officer | 2026-10-21 | $398.4441 | 15,100 | $6,016,506 | No plan indicated; this does not establish discretion. | SEC 1 |
| 18 | $IBTA | Leach Bryan | CEO and President | 2026-10-19 2026-10-20 2026-10-21 | $48.3925 | 112,963 | $5,466,558 | Reported Rule 10b5-1 plan. | SEC 1 · SEC 2 |
| 19 | $HOOD | Bhatt Baiju | Director | 2026-10-21 | $101.3995 | 50,912 | $5,162,452 | Reported Rule 10b5-1 plan. | SEC 1 |
| 20 | $HSY | Hershey Trust Co. (Milton Hershey School) | 10% Owner | 2026-10-19 2026-10-20 2026-10-21 | $168.1511 | 30,000 | $5,044,533 | Hershey Trust for the Milton Hershey School. Reported Rule 10b5-1 plan. | SEC 1 |
Five interpretation checks
Dates before headlines
Only October 19–23 transactions enter this edition. Lots dated outside the week are excluded even when they appear in the same filings.
Joint owners are not multiple trades
A filing can identify several beneficial owners of the same shares. In CTY, ARCH Venture Fund XII and director Robert Nelsen report the same 170,000 shares; in INNV, TCO Group Holdings’ sale is also reported by Apax and WCAS entities. Each counts once. The three RENT rows are three different investors, and the two SNOW and three TRV rows are different insiders with separate filings.
Units and currencies matter
Rows such as BPRE, GF, DSM, LEO, MXF, JOF, ECF and NXG concern fund shares, not operating companies; GF, DSM, LEO, MXF, JOF and ECF are Saba Capital purchases. In RAPP, two directors bought on October 22.
Purchase and sale codes need footnotes
The InnSuites Hospitality Trust filing reports 43,111 shares sold on October 20 at $46,654.38 per share, a price inconsistent with a stock that closed between $1.07 and $1.11 that week; the entry is excluded as an apparent reporting error (InnSuites filing). City Therapeutics (CTY) purchases were made at the $18.00 IPO price at the October 19 closing. Rent the Runway (RENT) purchases at $3.55 were made under the amended rights-offering backstop agreement of October 20. The InnovAge (INNV) sale was part of the underwriters’ over-allotment in an underwritten offering. None of these is presented as an open-market trade.
Plans change the interpretation
Nippon Life’s CRBG purchases continue under a plan adopted August 7. Many executive sales, including SNOW, UTHR, CRWD, ANET and ROIV, carry plan markers. A prearranged plan is not evidence of a new discretionary view.
What stands out on the buy side
Corebridge / Nippon Life
Nippon Life reports 572,563 shares bought on October 19–21 at a weighted average of $35.01, worth $20,045,116, under a disclosed Rule 10b5-1 plan adopted August 7. It is the largest purchase in the verified sample and continues the accumulation reported in previous weeks; it is not a spontaneous management purchase.
Dole / Pale Fire Capital
The Pale Fire Capital group, which reports holding more than 10% of Dole, bought 648,356 shares on October 20–22 at a weighted average of $13.19, worth $8,554,410, with no plan indicated. The filing does not state a motive or forecast results.
Rapport Therapeutics / Steven Paul, John Maraganore
Two directors bought on October 22: Steven Paul, through Paul Capital Strategy III Fund, 35,714 shares for $974,278, and John Maraganore 9,411 shares for $248,891, neither under a plan. Director purchases in a clinical-stage company are an ownership disclosure, not evidence about trial outcomes.
What stands out on the sell side
The three largest sales differ in mechanism
Snowflake director Frank Slootman sold 300,000 shares on October 19 for $94,930,176 under a plan. Control Empresarial de Capitales sold $38,562,754 of Talos Energy on October 19, and Travelers chairman and CEO Alan Schnitzer $35,273,172 on October 21 after a same-day option exercise, with no plan marker. The Talos sale is a large-owner event; executive sales that follow option exercises are linked to compensation.
Read the sale mechanism
SNOW, UTHR, CRWD, ANET, ROIV and other rows carry plan disclosures. For UTHR only the sale legs enter the total; option exercises are excluded. The InnovAge sale by TCO Group Holdings was made through the underwriters’ over-allotment option, so it is not presented as an open-market sale.
How the data were verified
Each lot was checked against transaction dates, prices, security types and plan disclosures. IHT was excluded for the reason above; CTY, RENT and INNV are shown with their non-market context. The result is a bounded, reproducible sample, not a claim to cover every SEC filing.
Sources and disclosure limits
The initial transaction list comes from Finviz, as of October 24. Each ranked group links to its primary SEC Form 4 evidence: 62 distinct filings for 40 groups. Amounts sum in-period non-derivative P/A purchases and S/D sales at reported prices. Exclusion evidence: InnSuites filing.
Reported prices can be weighted averages, so displayed values are estimates based on filing precision. Rounded group totals may not add exactly to the aggregate rounded total. This screen is not a full-market census; it can omit filings outside the discovery sample. Ownership changes and trading plans do not by themselves establish investment merit.
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Join @merlintraderpub_com on TelegramDisclaimer. Educational and informational purposes only. Not investment advice or a recommendation. Insider transactions are public records and do not by themselves imply a view on a security. Do your own research and consult a licensed financial adviser. Full disclaimer.



