insider-trade-tracker

Track and interpret SEC Form 4 insider buying and selling activity across US-listed equities using the Finskills API.

Security Scan

The skill's requirements and runtime instructions are consistent with its stated purpose (pulling Form 4 data from the Finskills API and computing insider signals); nothing requested is disproportionate or unrelated.

Purpose & Capability

The skill's name, description, and required env var (FINSKILLS_API_KEY) align with calling finskills.net endpoints for insider trades and filings. Minor inconsistency: the SKILL.md shows calculations that need a 'current_price' but the documented endpoints are only insider-trades and filings; SKILL.md earlier mentions Pro plan unlocks real-time quotes, while README claims the free plan is sufficient. Also registry metadata lists no homepage but SKILL.md includes a GitHub homepage — likely bookkeeping mismatches rather than malicious intent.

Instruction Scope

Runtime instructions are limited to fetching specified finskills.net endpoints, filtering and analyzing returned Form 4 data, and computing local summary statistics. The skill does not instruct reading unrelated files or env vars, nor transmitting data to unexpected endpoints.

Install Mechanism

This is instruction-only with no install spec or downloaded code; nothing is written to disk by the skill itself. Lowest install risk.

Credentials

Only a single API credential (FINSKILLS_API_KEY) is required and is appropriate for a third-party API integration. No other secrets or unrelated credentials are requested.

Persistence & Privilege

The skill does not request always:true, does not require config path access, and is user-invocable only. Normal autonomous invocation is allowed by platform defaults but not excessive here.

Assessment

This skill appears coherent and limited to using your FINSKILLS_API_KEY with finskills.net. Before installing: (1) Verify the finskills.net domain and the GitHub homepage referenced in SKILL.md are legitimate and match the provider you expect. (2) Confirm whether your free API plan supplies the 'current price' data the skill uses for unrealized gain/loss (SKILL.md mentions real-time quotes may be Pro-only). If real-time quotes are required, you may need a paid plan. (3) Treat your FINSKILLS_API_KEY like any secret—only grant it to skills you trust and rotate it if you suspect misuse. (4) Note this skill can be invoked by the agent (default behavior); if you want to limit autonomous runs, adjust agent settings. If you want higher assurance, request the upstream GitHub repository mentioned in SKILL.md and inspect any implementation code before installing.

Monitor SEC-reported insider buying and selling activity using the Finskills API SEC endpoints. Surfaces unusual insider transactions, cluster buying signals, and corporate officer behavior — one of the most reliable alternative data signals for identifying high-conviction investment opportunities.

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Setup

API Key required — Register at https://finskills.net to get your free key.
Header: X-API-Key: <your_api_key>

Get your API key: Register at https://finskills.net — free tier available, Pro plan unlocks real-time quotes, history, and financials.

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When to Activate This Skill

Activate when the user:

• Asks "is management buying their own stock?"
• Wants to check recent insider transactions for a specific company
• Asks for unusual insider buying or selling activity across the market
• Wants to understand what Form 4 filings mean
• Uses insider activity as part of their investment screening process

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Background — Insider Trading Signals

Corporate insiders (officers, directors, 10%+ shareholders) must file Form 4 with the SEC within 2 business days of any transaction. Key signal principles:

Insider Buying Signals:

• Cluster buying (3+ insiders buying within 30 days): High conviction ⭐⭐⭐
• CEO/CFO buying (most informed executives): Strongest signal ⭐⭐⭐
• Open-market purchase (not options exercise): More meaningful ⭐⭐
• New director buying shortly after joining: Board confidence signal ⭐⭐
• Buying at or near multi-year lows: Turnaround signal ⭐⭐⭐

Insider Selling Signals (interpret carefully):

• Insiders sell for many reasons (diversification, tax planning, personal needs)
• Cluster selling by multiple insiders simultaneously: Warning signal ⚠️
• CEO/CFO selling > 50% of holdings: Significant concern 🚨
• Selling before known negative catalyst: Potential information advantage (SEC investigates) 🚨
• Pre-planned 10b5-1 sales: Less meaningful (scheduled in advance)

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Data Retrieval — Finskills API Calls

1. Symbol-Specific Insider Trades

GET https://finskills.net/v1/free/sec/insider-trades/{SYMBOL}

Extract:

• filerName: insider's name
• filerTitle: role (CEO, CFO, Director, 10% owner, etc.)
• transactionType: Purchase (P) or Sale (S) or gift (G) or option exercise (A)
• transactionDate: date of transaction
• shares: number of shares transacted
• pricePerShare: transaction price
• totalValue: total dollar value of transaction
• sharesOwnedAfter: total shares owned after transaction
• filingDate: date filed with SEC

2. SEC EDGAR Filings (for context)

GET https://finskills.net/v1/free/sec/filings/{CIK}

(If the company's CIK number is known)
Extract: recent 8-K, 10-Q, 10-K filings to provide context for insider timing

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Analysis Workflow

Step 1 — Transaction Filtering

Filter the insider trade feed:

1. Remove option exercises (transactionType = 'A'): These are pre-planned, not discretionary
2. Remove gifts (transactionType = 'G'): Non-economic, planning-related
3. Focus on Open-Market Purchases ('P') and Sales ('S'): True economic decisions

Step 2 — Insider Hierarchy Weighting

Assign signal weight by filer title:

Role	Signal Weight
CEO	⭐⭐⭐ Highest
CFO	⭐⭐⭐ Highest
President / COO	⭐⭐⭐ High
Director (Board)	⭐⭐ Medium
VP / Other Officer	⭐⭐ Medium
10% Shareholder	⭐ Lower (may have strategic not informational motivation)

Step 3 — Cluster Signal Detection

Cluster Buy Signal (high conviction):

• ≥ 3 distinct insiders purchasing within a 30-day window
• At least one C-suite (CEO/CFO) included
• Total purchase value > $500K combined → Flag: CLUSTER BUY ⭐⭐⭐

Cluster Sell Signal (caution):

• ≥ 3 distinct insiders selling within a 30-day window (excluding 10b5-1)
• Combined shares represent > 20% of their aggregate holdings → Flag: CLUSTER SELL ⚠️

Size Signal:

• Purchase > $1M by a single insider: High conviction
• Purchase > $5M: Exceptional conviction

Step 4 — Transaction Context Analysis

Compare transaction price to current stock price:

Unrealized Gain/Loss % = (current_price - transaction_price) / transaction_price × 100

If CEO bought at $X and stock is still near $X: Insider is "underwater" → management's money at risk too (alignment signal).

If CEO bought and stock has already risen 30%: Signal may be partly priced in, but confirms thesis.

Step 5 — Trend Summary

Compute rolling 90-day stats:

• Count of buy transactions vs. sell transactions
• Net buy/sell dollar value
• Number of unique insiders transacting

Net Insider Sentiment Score:

Score = (buy_transactions × buy_value) / max(sell_transactions × sell_value, 1)

• Score > 2.0: Net buying pressure — bullish insider signal
• Score 0.5–2.0: Balanced / neutral
• Score < 0.5: Net selling — caution

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Output Format

╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║    INSIDER TRADE REPORT — {TICKER}  ({DATE})        ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

📌 INSIDER SENTIMENT (Last 90 Days)
  Net Sentiment:   {BULLISH / NEUTRAL / CAUTIOUS}
  Buy Transactions:  {n}  ($${total_value}M)
  Sell Transactions: {n}  ($${total_value}M)
  Unique Insiders:   {n} buyers / {n} sellers

{CLUSTER BUY SIGNAL ⭐⭐⭐}  OR  {CLUSTER SELL WARNING ⚠️}  if triggered

📋 RECENT TRANSACTIONS (Last 90 Days, open-market only)
  Date        Insider                Title    Type     Shares    Price    Value
  2025-04-05  John Smith             CEO      BOUGHT   50,000    $42.10   $2.1M
  2025-03-28  Jane Doe               CFO      BOUGHT   15,000    $39.80   $597K
  2025-03-10  Robert Johnson         Director BOUGHT    8,000    $41.20   $330K
  2025-02-15  Alice Chen             VP Ops   SOLD     12,000    $44.50   $534K
  ...

  [Only showing open-market purchases and sales, excluding option exercises and gifts]

📊 SIGNAL ANALYSIS
  Key Buy Signal:   {Date}: {Name} (CEO/CFO) purchased ${amount}M at ${price}
                    → {Interpretation / context — near 52-week low? Vs. current price?}

  Ownership Context: After purchase, CEO holds {shares} shares (${value} at current price)
                    → {high/medium/low} skin-in-the-game vs. annual compensation

  Price Action Since:  Stock is {+/-}% from average insider purchase price

⚠️ CAVEATS
  • {Any pre-planned 10b5-1 sales noted in filings}
  • {Any concurrent SEC investigation or litigation}
  • {Acquisition-related transactions to exclude}

📈 OVERALL VERDICT
  Insider Signal: {STRONG BUY / MILD BUY / NEUTRAL / MILD CAUTION / CAUTION}
  Confidence:     {High / Medium / Low}
  Rationale:      {2 sentence summary of why}

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Limitations

• Form 4 filings can be delayed up to 2 business days; very recent transactions may not appear.
• Insider selling is inherently ambiguous — always consider alongside valuation and fundamentals.
• This skill does not identify illegal insider trading; all transactions shown are SEC-reported.
• CIK numbers must be obtained from SEC EDGAR for company-specific filing lookups.