Amazon, Tesla And 2 Other Stocks Insiders Are Selling

The Nasdaq dropped by around 200 points on Wednesday. Investors, meanwhile, focused on some notable insider trades.

When insiders sell shares, it indicates their concern in the company’s prospects or that they view the stock as being overpriced. Either way, this signals an opportunity to go short on the stock. Insider sales should not be taken as the only indicator for making an investment or trading decision. At best, it can lend conviction to a selling decision.

Below is a look at a few recent notable insider sales. For more, check out Benzinga's insider transactions platform.

Merck & Co

• The Trade: Merck & Co., Inc. MRK EVP, Chief HR Officer Steven Mizell sold a total of 4,436 shares at an average price of $104.25. The insider received around $462.47 thousand from selling those shares.
• What’s Happening: Merck & Co recently issued FY23 adjusted EPS below estimates.
• What Merck & Co Does: Merck makes pharmaceutical products to treat several conditions in a number of therapeutic areas, including cardiometabolic disease, cancer, and infections.

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Palo Alto Networks

• The Trade: Palo Alto Networks, Inc. PANW Director, EVP, Chief Technology Officer Nir Zuk sold a total of 72,000 shares at an average price of $167.38. The insider received around $12.05 million from selling those shares.
• What’s Happening: JP Morgan recently initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks with an Overweight rating and announced a price target of $195.
• What Palo Alto Networks Does: Palo Alto Networks is a platform-based cybersecurity vendor with product offerings covering network security, cloud security, and security operations.

Amazon.com

• The Trade: Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN CEO Worldwide Amazon Stores Douglas J Herrington sold a total of 4,000 shares at an average price of $102.90. The insider received around $411.6 thousand from selling those shares.
• What’s Happening: Amazon recently reported worse-than-expected Q4 EPS and issued Q1 revenue guidance with a midpoint below estimates.
• What Amazon.com Does: Amazon is a leading online retailer and one of the highest-grossing e-commerce aggregators, with $386 billion in net sales and approximately $578 billion in estimated physical/digital online gross merchandise volume in 2021.

Tesla

• The Trade: Tesla, Inc. TSLA CFO Zachary Kirkhorn sold a total of 3,750 shares at an average price of $193.00. The insider received around $723.75 thousand from selling those shares.
• What’s Happening: Tesla exported 39,208 China-made vehicles in January.
• What Tesla Does: Founded in 2003 and based in Palo Alto, California, Tesla is a vertically integrated sustainable energy company that also aims to transition the world to electric mobility by making electric vehicles.