ECB Bancorp Board Member Acquires 0 Shares After Exercising Company Stock Options

Elizabeth Jones, Board Member at ECB Bancorp ECBK, reported a large exercise of company stock options on September 11, according to a new SEC filing.

What Happened: A Form 4 filing from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday showed that Jones, Board Member at ECB Bancorp, a company in the Financials sector, just exercised stock options worth 0 shares of ECBK stock with an exercise price of $0.0.

ECB Bancorp shares are trading up 0.6% at $11.71 at the time of this writing on Tuesday morning. Since the current price is $11.71, this makes Jones's 0 shares worth $0.

Now trade stocks online commission free with Charles Schwab, a trusted and complete investment firm.

The Importance of Insider Transactions

Insider transactions shouldn't be used primarily to make an investing decision, however an insider transaction can be an important factor in the investing decision.

In legal terms, an "insider" refers to any shareholder who owns at least 10% of a company. This can include executives in the c-suite and large hedge funds. These insiders are required to let the public know of their transactions via a Form 4 filing, which must be filed within two business days of the transaction.

When a company insider makes a new purchase, that is an indication that they expect the stock to rise.

Insider sells, on the other hand, can be made for a variety of reasons, and may not necessarily mean that the seller thinks the stock will go down.

Transaction Codes To Focus On

Investors prefer focusing on transactions that take place in the open market, indicated in Table I of the Form 4 filing. A P in Box 3 indicates a purchase, while S indicates a sale. Transaction code C indicates the conversion of an option, and transaction code A indicates the insider may have been forced to sell shares in order to receive compensation that had been promised upon being hired by the company.

Check Out The Full List Of ECB Bancorp's Insider Trades.

This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.