McDonald's, Alphabet And 2 Other Stocks Insiders Are Selling

The Nasdaq 100 closed lower by over 50 points on Friday. Investors, meanwhile, focused on some notable insider trades.

When insiders sell shares, it could be a preplanned sale, or could indicate their concern in the company's prospects or that they view the stock as being overpriced. 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.

Applied Materials

• The Trade: Applied Materials, Inc. AMAT President, Semi. Products Grp. Prabu G. Raja sold a total of 50,000 shares at an average price of $249.17. The insider received around $12.5 million from selling those shares.
• What's Happening: On June 20, B. Riley Securities analyst Craig Ellis maintained Applied Materials with a Buy and raised the price target from $255 to $300.
• What Applied Materials Does: Applied Materials is the largest semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment, or WFE, manufacturer in the world.

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Pinterest

• The Trade: Pinterest, Inc. PINS Chief Accounting Officer Andrea Acosta sold a total of 2,564 shares at an average price of $45.00. The insider received around $115,380 from selling those shares.
• What's Happening: On June 14, Piper Sandler analyst Thomas Champion maintained Pinterest with an Overweight and maintained a $52 price target.
• What Pinterest Does: Pinterest is an online product and idea discovery platform that helps users gather ideas on everything from cooking recipes to travel destinations.

Alphabet

• The Trade: Alphabet Inc. GOOGL GOOG CEO Sundar Pichai sold a total of 22,500 shares at an average price of $177.40. The insider received around $3.99 million from selling those shares.
• What's Happening: On June 18, Alphabet subsidiary Waymo released a safety report pegging its autonomous driving technology as better than a human driver, resulting in fewer crashes that cause injuries or even police-reported crashes in San Francisco and Phoenix.
• What Alphabet Does: Alphabet is a holding company. Internet media giant Google is a wholly owned subsidiary.

McDonald’s

• The Trade: McDonald’s Corporation MCD President, McDonald’s USA Joseph M. Erlinger sold a total of 1,098 shares at an average price of $260.00. The insider received around $285,480 from selling those shares.
• What's Happening: On June 21, McDonald’s announced a new $5 meal deal to attract price-conscious customers amid rising fast-food prices.
• What McDonald’s Does: McDonald’s is the largest restaurant owner-operator in the world, with 2023 system sales of $130 billion across nearly than 42,000 stores and 115 markets.

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