August 1, 2026

‍

July insider trading activity was heavily skewed toward selling, with the largest completed transactions coming from founders, 10% beneficial owners, investment funds, strategic shareholders, and affiliated institutions.
‍

The largest verified purchase of the month was Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group’s $318.72 million investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF).
‍

The largest verified completed sale was Wang Xuning’s $401.19 million sale of SharkNinja Inc. (NYSE: SN) shares.
‍

The report covers transactions dated July 1 through July 31, 2026. The data remains provisional because transactions completed near the end of the month may not appear until early August due to Form 4 filing deadlines.

‍

Key Details

‍

• Coverage period: July 1 to July 31, 2026
• Largest verified purchase: Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group bought $318.72 million of Jefferies shares
• Largest repeated founder purchase: Jack Huang bought at least $26.2 million of 51Talk shares
• Largest verified completed sale: Wang Xuning sold $401.19 million of SharkNinja shares
• Largest operating-CEO sale: Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck sold about $286.41 million under a 10b5-1 plan
• Main trend: July activity was dominated by large sales, while the biggest purchases were mostly strategic or fund-controlled investments

‍

Methodology

‍

The rankings include completed transactions reported with code P for open-market or private purchases and code S for open-market or private sales.
‍

The report excludes:
‍

• Stock grants and awards
• Option exercises and conversions
• Shares withheld for taxes
• Gifts
• Transfers back to the issuer
• Form 144 proposed sales not confirmed on Form 4
  ‍

Transactions reported by several affiliated entities were counted once at the economic-owner level. This prevents the same block trade from being counted multiple times under a fund, subsidiary, general partner, and controlling person.
‍

That distinction matters because a $300 million strategic institutional purchase does not carry the same signal as a CEO buying shares with personal capital.

‍

Largest Insider Purchases in July

‍

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE: SMFG) Buys Jefferies

‍

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group made the largest verified July purchase.

‍

Key details:
‍

• Company: Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF)
• Buyer: Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group
• Relationship: Strategic shareholder and director-by-deputization
• Date: July 15
• Shares: 5,906,542
• Average price: $53.96
• Transaction value: $318.72 million
• Transaction code: P
  ‍

This was the largest purchase in the dataset, but it should be viewed as a strategic institutional investment rather than a conventional insider-confidence signal from Jefferies management.

‍

Allseas Group Buys The Metals Company

‍

Allseas Group S.A. made the second-largest verified purchase.

‍

Key details:
‍

• Company: The Metals Company Inc. (NASDAQ: TMC)
• Buyer: Allseas Group S.A.
• Relationship: 10% owner
• Date: July 7
• Shares: 7,305,567
• Price: $4.66
• Transaction value: $34.04 million
• Transaction code: P

‍

The purchase represented additional investment by a major strategic shareholder closely connected to The Metals Company’s deep-sea mining operations.

‍

Jack Huang Continues Buying (NYSEAMERICAN: COE)

‍

Jack Jiajia Huang, CEO, director, and 10% owner of 51Talk Online Education Group (NYSE: COE), was the largest repeated founder buyer identified in July.
‍

Key details:
‍

• Company: 51Talk Online Education Group (NYSE: COE)
• Buyer: Jack Jiajia Huang
• Relationship: CEO, director, and 10% owner
• Dates: Multiple July dates
• Verified transaction value: At least $26.2 million
• Transaction code: P
  ‍

Huang purchased approximately $9.31 million across July 6 to July 8 and another approximately $16.9 million across July 20 to July 23.
‍

Unlike a one-time strategic transaction, the repeated accumulation makes Huang’s activity more relevant as an insider-confidence signal, although his founder and controlling-owner status still matters.

‍

Other Large July Purchases

‍

Other notable verified purchases included:
‍

• Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER) invested about $20 million in Neutron Holdings, the operator of Lime
• ICONIQ-affiliated entities bought about $7.2 million of Netskope Inc. (NASDAQ: NTSK) shares
• RA Capital bought about $5.2 million of Parabilis Medicines (NASDAQ: PBLS) shares
• Aqua Capital and affiliated reporting persons bought at least $3.68 million of Energizer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ENR) shares
• Michael Fries bought about $1.01 million of Liberty Latin America Ltd. (NASDAQ: LILA) shares
  ‍

Michael Fries’ purchase stood out because it was one of the cleaner conventional purchases by an operating executive during the month.

‍

Largest Insider Sales in July

‍

Wang Xuning Sells SharkNinja (NYSE: SN)

‍

Wang Xuning, founder, director, and 10% owner of SharkNinja, made the largest verified sale.
‍

Key details:
‍

• Company: SharkNinja Inc. (NYSE: SN)
• Seller: Wang Xuning
• Relationship: Founder, director, and 10% owner
• Date: July 10
• Shares: 2,668,200
• Price: $150.36
• Transaction value: $401.19 million
• Transaction code: S
  ‍

This was a major founder and controlling-shareholder sale rather than a routine officer disposal.

‍

Baker Bros. Sells (NASDAQ: CELC)

‍

Baker Bros. Advisors and affiliated holders made the second-largest verified sale.
‍

Key details:
‍

• Company: Celcuity Inc. (NASDAQ: CELC)
• Seller: Baker Bros. Advisors and affiliated holders
• Relationship: Former 10% owners
• Date: July 14
• Shares: 3.1 million
• Price: $102.50
• Transaction value: $317.75 million
• Transaction code: S

‍

Because the sellers were affiliated, the transaction was counted once rather than separately under each reporting entity.

‍

Peter Beck Sells Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB)

‍

Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ: RKLB), made the largest verified July sale by an operating CEO.
‍

Key details:
‍

• Company: Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ: RKLB)
• Seller: Peter Beck
• Relationship: Founder and CEO
• Dates: July 6 to July 8
• Shares: 3,275,779
• Transaction value: Approximately $286.41 million
• Transaction code: S
• 10b5-1 plan: Yes
  ‍

The sale was conducted under a Rule 10b5-1 plan adopted on March 27, 2026, which reduces the significance of the exact July sale timing as a discretionary signal.

‍

Other Large July Sales

‍

Other notable verified sales included:

‍

• Andreas Bechtolsheim sold about $135.97 million of Arista Networks Inc. (NYSE: ANET) shares under a 10b5-1 plan
• Plymouth Rock affiliates sold at least about $127.8 million of Safety Insurance Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SAFT) shares
• Control Empresarial de Capitales sold about $49.51 million of PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE: PBF) shares
• Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) COO Javier Olivan sold about $3.15 million of shares under a 10b5-1 plan

‍

Sector Breakdown

‍

Consumer Discretionary

‍

Consumer Discretionary produced both the strongest repeated founder buying and the largest verified sale.
‍

Key details:
‍

• Largest purchase: Jack Huang bought at least $26.2 million of 51Talk shares
• Largest sale: Wang Xuning sold $401.19 million of SharkNinja shares
• Sector read: Huang’s repeated buying is more useful as an insider-confidence signal, while Wang’s sale looks more like founder-level liquidity and ownership management

‍

Financials

‍

Financials had the largest verified purchase overall.
‍

Key details:
‍

• Largest purchase: Sumitomo Mitsui bought $318.72 million of Jefferies shares
• Largest smaller-company purchase: Five Star Bancorp director and 10% owner Larry Allbaugh bought about $4 million of shares
• Largest sale: Plymouth Rock affiliates sold at least about $127.8 million of Safety Insurance shares
• Sector read: Both leaders involved large affiliated or institutional owners, not ordinary executive trades

‍

Health Care

‍

Health Care activity was dominated by specialist biotechnology investment funds.
‍

Key details:
‍

• Largest purchase: RA Capital bought about $5.2 million of Parabilis Medicines shares
• Largest sale: Baker Bros. sold $317.75 million of Celcuity shares
• Sector read: These were portfolio-level fund decisions rather than direct CEO or CFO trades

‍

Industrials

‍

Industrials had the largest operating-CEO sale.
‍

Key details:
‍

• Largest strategic purchase: Uber invested about $20 million in Neutron Holdings
• Largest conventional executive purchase identified: Franklin Electric CFO Jennifer Wolfenbarger bought about $661,800 of shares
• Largest sale: Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck sold about $286.41 million under a 10b5-1 plan
• Sector read: Beck’s sale was large, but the trading plan means it was scheduled months in advance

‍

Information Technology

‍

Information Technology saw a large founder sale and a fund-controlled purchase.
‍

Key details:
‍

• Largest purchase: ICONIQ-affiliated entities bought about $7.2 million of Netskope shares
• Largest sale: Arista founder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold about $135.97 million under a 10b5-1 plan
• Sector read: Neither trade represents a simple operating-executive buy-versus-sell comparison

‍

Materials

‍

Materials had a large strategic purchase and a smaller but cleaner CEO purchase.
‍

Key details:
‍

• Largest purchase: Allseas Group bought $34.04 million of The Metals Company shares
• Cleaner executive purchase: Energy Fuels CEO Ross Bhappu bought about $967,920 of shares
• Largest sale: No Materials-sector code-S transaction was verified with enough confidence to name a final leader
• Sector read: Allseas was larger, but Bhappu’s personal CEO purchase may carry a cleaner management-confidence signal

‍

Communication Services

‍

Communication Services had smaller verified transactions.
‍

Key details:
‍

• Largest purchase: Michael Fries bought about $1.01 million of Liberty Latin America shares
• Largest sale: Meta COO Javier Olivan sold about $3.15 million under a 10b5-1 plan
• Sector read: Fries’ direct purchase is easier to interpret than Olivan’s scheduled sale

‍

Energy

‍

Energy’s strongest verified activity was selling.
‍

Key details:
‍

• Largest purchase: No Energy-sector code-P purchase was verified with enough confidence to name a leader
• Largest sale: Control Empresarial sold about $49.51 million of PBF Energy shares
• Sector read: The largest verified Energy-sector signal was major-shareholder selling, not operating-executive buying

‍

Consumer Staples

‍

Consumer Staples showed buying from Aqua Capital in Energizer.
‍

Key details:
‍

• Largest purchase: Aqua Capital bought at least $3.68 million of Energizer shares
• Largest sale: No Consumer Staples code-S transaction was verified with enough confidence to name a leader
• Sector read: The purchase was meaningful, but it came from an affiliated 10% owner rather than Energizer management

‍

Real Estate and Utilities

‍

Real Estate had insufficient verified data to name a purchase or sale leader.
‍

Utilities had a verified sale from PG&E executive Marlene Santos, who sold about $2.85 million of shares, but no clean common-stock purchase leader was confirmed.

‍

Operating Executives Versus Major Owners

‍

The largest dollar transactions in July were mostly not conventional executive trades.
‍

They were made by founders, strategic corporate investors, institutional shareholders, investment funds, and 10% owners.
‍

The clearest conventional operating-executive purchases were much smaller:
‍

• Michael Fries bought about $1.01 million of Liberty Latin America shares
• Ross Bhappu bought about $967,920 of Energy Fuels shares
• Jennifer Wolfenbarger bought about $661,800 of Franklin Electric shares
  ‍

These purchases were small compared with Sumitomo Mitsui’s $318.72 million Jefferies investment, but they may carry a cleaner personal-conviction signal because they involved company executives committing their own capital.
‍

The largest operating-executive sale was Peter Beck’s approximately $286.41 million Rocket Lab sale, but the transaction was conducted under a predetermined 10b5-1 trading plan.

‍

Overall July Insider Trading Trend

‍

Preliminary market-wide data through July 29 showed that only 14.8% of companies with officer or director activity recorded net buying.
‍

Among large-cap companies, the percentage was approximately 3.2%.
‍

Consumer Staples, Materials, and Utilities were the only sectors showing aggregate net buying in that preliminary reading.
‍

Key trend notes:
‍

• July activity was heavily skewed toward selling
• The largest purchases were usually strategic or fund-controlled investments
• Major founder and beneficial-owner sales dominated the sale leaderboard
• Several of the biggest executive sales were made under 10b5-1 plans
• Genuine personal purchases by operating CEOs and CFOs were much smaller
• Raw Form 4 totals can be distorted by duplicated affiliated filers

‍

The Bigger Picture

‍

July’s insider trading data was not a simple story of executives buying or selling their own companies.
‍

The largest purchase was a strategic institutional investment in Jefferies. The largest sale was a founder and controlling-shareholder disposal at SharkNinja. The largest operating-CEO sale came from Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck, but that trade was scheduled under a predetermined plan.
‍

The cleaner insider-confidence signals were smaller, including Michael Fries at Liberty Latin America, Ross Bhappu at Energy Fuels, and Jennifer Wolfenbarger at Franklin Electric.
‍

The key takeaway is that insider trading data needs context. Transaction size matters, but so does the filer’s role, transaction code, trading plan status, affiliated ownership structure, and whether the trade was a personal decision or a strategic institutional move.
‍

Platforms like LevelFields track insider activity across companies, helping investors identify between routine transactions and higher-signal events that have historically aligned with stock movements alongside regulatory events, earnings trends, and buybacks, helping investors separate cleaner insider signals from routine filings, fund transactions, and ownership-structure noise.