Insider trading this week: the 20 biggest buys and 20 biggest sells

US-based global investment bank (M&A advisory, capital markets, trading and asset management), the largest independent full-service firm outside the bulge bracket. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), a Jefferies director and long-standing partner, bought about 5.9 million shares (~$319M) on July 15, lifting its holding under the two firms’ strategic capital-and-business alliance; the filing notes the price is subject to a reference-period adjustment. This is a strategic stake increase rather than an ordinary open-market trade.

Closed-end fund managed by Tortoise Capital that invests in energy-infrastructure and midstream equities using structural leverage. The $60M ‘buy’ at a flat $10.00 was Prudential Financial (through PGIM) subscribing to a privately placed series of mandatory-redeemable preferred shares at par: a fund leverage-financing transaction, not an open-market purchase of common stock and not a management conviction signal. Finviz also cross-tagged the trade to Prudential’s own ticker, but the security is the Tortoise preferred.

US advanced-nuclear-fuel company, a pure-play maker of TRISO/HALEU fuel for microreactors and advanced reactors, that completed a traditional NYSE IPO priced at $15.00 on July 15 and began trading July 16. Pre-IPO backer Decisive Point Group’s ~$19M purchase at the flat $15.00 IPO price is a sponsor/cornerstone allocation, not an open-market buy.

Recently launched Nasdaq closed-end fund offering public exposure to private humanoid-robotics and ‘physical AI’ companies. President and CEO Andrew Kang’s ~$10M purchase is the fund’s sponsor adding to his own vehicle rather than an operating-company insider buying stock; the fund’s value tracks the private robotics holdings it owns.

Ares-managed closed-end fund investing across credit: senior secured loans, CLO debt and equity and high-yield bonds. Thrivent’s $4M ‘buy’ at a flat $25.00 was a subscription to a privately placed series of mandatory-redeemable preferred shares at par (fund leverage financing), not an open-market purchase.

Brazil’s largest electric utility (generation and transmission across hydro, nuclear, wind and solar), the former Eletrobras, rebranded AXIA Energia in 2026. Director Pedro Batista de Lima Filho reported a ~$1.9M purchase acquired indirectly through managed funds he is associated with (Radar Gestora), which trade the stock in both directions: portfolio activity rather than a self-funded conviction buy.

PIMCO’s flagship leveraged multi-sector closed-end bond fund (mortgage and securitized credit, corporate and emerging-market debt), one of the largest taxable-bond CEFs. PIMCO managing director Thibault Stracke made a ~$1.6M discretionary open-market purchase on July 15, an alignment/insider-conviction signal within the fund-management context.

Global maker of batteries and auto-care products (Energizer, Eveready, Rayovac, Armor All, STP). A controlling-family 10% owner group led by Aqua Capital added about $3.7M of stock across four days (July 13-16) at roughly $20, continuing to build its stake above 10%. Energizer also featured in last week’s report.

US-focused critical-minerals company producing low-carbon, high-purity titanium powders for aerospace, defense and additive manufacturing, with a Virginia plant and a Tennessee mineral-sands project. Executive Chairman Todd Hannigan made a ~$1.1M open-market purchase on July 13, days after a $50M equity raise and part of a run of 2026 insider buys: a genuine personal-conviction signal.

One of the largest US managed-care insurers and the biggest Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee (Anthem, plus the Carelon services arm), with about 45 million medical members. CEO Gail Boudreaux bought ~$1.0M and director Ramiro Peru ~$0.37M on July 17, after the stock fell sharply on the July 15 Q2 report; the company modestly raised full-year adjusted-EPS guidance but flagged elevated Medicaid/Medicare medical-cost trends. These read as conviction purchases into the post-earnings dip.

Clinical-stage oncology biotech whose lead drug, onvansertib (an oral PLK1 inhibitor), is in Phase 2 for first-line RAS-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer. Director Gary Pace’s ~$1M purchase was participation in a $10M registered direct offering priced July 15 (insiders paid a modest premium to outside investors), so it is aligned financing support rather than an open-market buy.

Clinical-stage biopharma developing miniature, long-acting subdermal drug-delivery implants (NanoPortal), including GLP-1 obesity implants such as a roughly once-yearly semaglutide candidate. Chairman and largest holder Gregg Williams bought ~$1M on July 15, but a filing footnote shows it was a purchase under a pre-existing private share-purchase agreement: controlling-holder financing support rather than a discretionary open-market trade.

Cloud-security (SASE/SSE) vendor that listed on Nasdaq in September 2025 at $19 and now trades around $12. Pre-IPO backer ICONIQ Strategic Partners (a 10% owner) added about $0.8M on July 13; an affiliated director filed a mirroring Form 4 for the same shares, so this is one block rather than two separate buys. Netskope also featured in last week’s report.

BlackRock multi-asset closed-end term trust (global equity and debt with an ESG screen and an option-writing overlay). BlackRock chief investment officer Rick Rieder bought ~$0.6M on July 13 but simultaneously sold an identical amount of a sister fund (BCAT), so this is routine rebalancing between managed funds rather than a fresh conviction signal.

Closed-end fund (Eaton Vance / Morgan Stanley IM) holding large-cap US equities with a covered-call overlay for monthly income. Portfolio manager Charles Gaffney made a ~$0.5M open-market purchase on July 13 while the fund traded at a discount to NAV: a modest alignment/conviction signal, the cleanest of the fund-manager buys this week.

Small-cap clinical-stage biotech that recently discontinued its lead program (pociredir for sickle cell disease) on an FDA class-safety concern and had already deprioritized its FSHD drug, leaving it trading below its net cash of roughly $330M. Tang Capital, a 10% owner known for accumulating below-cash ‘broken’ biotechs to push for capital returns or reverse mergers, added about $0.8M on July 14-15. This is a special-situation/activist accumulation, not a pipeline-conviction buy.

Enterprise software company whose AI-driven platform manages digital presence (business listings, reviews, landing pages and search) for large brands. Director Daniel Englander bought ~$0.4M on July 13, roughly doubling his stake after a share-price decline of about a third over six months: a straightforward open-market conviction/valuation buy.