Insider selling is followed by investors who expect the activity could point to deeper troubles at a company, though the motivations can vary

August 25, 2025 | 02:51pm

Insider report: The stocks with the biggest recent sales by executives from Circle Internet, Zillow, Applovin and more

Insider selling is followed by investors who expect the activity could point to deeper troubles at a company, though the motivations can vary

A flurry of stock sales were made in names such as Circle Internet Group and Zillow Group last week as company executives and other corporate insiders offloaded their shares. Insider selling is followed by traders who expect the activity could point to deeper troubles at a company, though the motivations can vary. VerityData tracks the information, which is confirmed against the original Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The list excludes filings where the disclosure explicitly says the sale was conducted pursuant to preplanned 10b5-1 trading plans. Instead, the focus is on discretionary activity. Here are some of the most notable sales from the last week. Circle Internet Group CEO Jeremy Allaire sold 358,000 shares at an average price of $127.08 for a total of $45.5 million, according to regulatory filings . The sale reduced his holdings by 2%, and was made as part of the company's secondary offering . Circle , one of the earliest companies in the cryptocurrency industry, issues USD Coin, the second largest stablecoin in the world. Circle priced its IPO at $31, and shares shot up 168% on its first day of trading on June 5. Since then, the stock has been highly volatile. The secondary offering put pressure on the stock, and it has fallen more than 20% since it was announced on Aug. 12. Shares are trading 57% below the June high. CRCL 3M mountain Circle, over three months Zillow Group Zillow Group co-executive chairman and President Richard Barton sold 350,000 shares at an average price of $85.25 for a total of $29.8 million. The sale reduced holdings by 6%. What's more, co-executive chairman Lloyd Frink sold 250,000 shares at an average price of $85.00 for a total of $21.3 million. Barton and Frink sold outside their typical 10b5-1 trading plans, according to a note from Verity. Barton's last sale outside of a trading plan was 2017. Zillow shares are up nearly 25% quarter to date. Applovin Arash Adam Foroughi, chief executive at the mobile technology company, sold 178,000 shares at an average price of $418.78 for a total of $74.3 million. The sale reduced his holdings by 2%. Applovin shares are up 29% since the quarter began. Monolithic Power Systems Monolithic Power Systems CEO Michael Hsing sold 20,000 shares at an average price of $829.10 for a total of $16.8 million. The sale reduced his holdings by 2%. Verity notes this was a step-out sale after Hsing terminated a 10b5-1 trading plan, his first non-planned sales since 2019. Cardinal Health Cardinal Health CEO Jason Hollar sold 143,000 shares of the global health-care services and products company at an average price of $149.19 for a total of $21.4 million, securities filings show. The sale reduced holdings by 31.3%. Shares are slightly down, by 4%, over the past three months, but are up 24% year to date. . Verity notes a number of executives' sales coincide with stock award vestings: Eight executives, including CEO Jason Hollar, sold at $149.09 following vestings, a negative development as shares of the healthcare conglomerate have pulled back to levels within ~10% of their July all-time high. The activity marks the third such year that insiders have sold their post-vesting stock but this period stands out as it's accelerated each year at successively higher prices. CAH YTD mountain Cardinal Health, year to date Hollar led the activity as he sold 143,600 shares for $21.4 million, which compares with the 170,900 post-tax shares that vested days earlier, and leaves him with 27,300 shares retained from the vesting. CFO Aaron Alt sold 48,200 shares for $7.2 million, accelerating far above his post-vesting sale from last year and selling beyond the 42,800 post-tax shares that vested recently. While the CEO's sales were in line with his vestings, each of the others sold beyond the shares that vested this quarter, and that acceleration near the all-time high leaves us a bit cautious of Cardinal. Willdan Group Thomas Brisbin, director at Willdan Group , sold 125,000 shares of the the technical and consulting services firm to utilities companies, at an average price of $109.58 for a total of $13.7 million. The sale reduced his holdings by 28%. Verity noted that Chairman and former CEO Thomas Brisbin has led selling by four insiders in unusual multi-insider activity this quarter as shares of the technical and consulting services company have risen dramatically over the last several months, surging to new all-time highs. Willdan shares are up 126% over the past three months. Brisbin, who retired as CEO at the end of 2023, cut his non-option holdings by 28% with his sale at no less than $108 and he tacked on an option sale. He has routinely sold short-life options but his deviations to sell non-option shares have been timely, including a sale in November 2024 at $42.49 near a peak. Informatica Informatica CEO Amit Walia sold 508,000 shares of the enterprise cloud data management leader at an average price of $24.71 for a total of $12.6 million. The sale reduced his holdings by 20%. Shares are up about 10% over the past three months. Robinhood Robinhood CFO Jason Warnick, chief financial officer at the trading platform, sold 100,000 shares at an average price of $110.93 for a total of $11.1 million. The sale reduced Warnick's holdings by 16%. Shares are up almost 72% over past three months.

This story originally appeared on: CNBC - Author:Nick Wells