Insider Warning: Top Execs Are Selling Stocks at Record-Breaking Speed

From Birch Gold Group

As major stock market indices continue to climb, the trading activity of top U.S. executives and bankers suggest that the end may be near. According to security filing analysis by the Wall Street Journal, since the election nearly three months ago, insiders have sold off a staggering $100 million in shares. Is this just a coincidence, or are they preparing for something the rest of us don’t know about?

Why Record Highs Are NOT Cause for Celebration

Stocks are still riding their post-election rally and hitting record highs. For the first time ever, on January 25 the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke 20,000, and the broader market is charging upward as well.

With so much excitement, it’s hard to imagine that the party could ever end. But no rally lasts forever, and history shows that times like these are when Americans should be the most cautious.

Back in 1999, nobody thought disaster was possible. Stocks were soaring, the media was buzzing with positive stories, and the Dow broke 10,000 for the first time. The landscape looked much like it does today.

But while the majority of people were transfixed by the bubble’s shiny surface, Wall Street insiders knew it was destined to pop. That’s why they silently started dumping piles of stock while the masses stayed on the bandwagon.

Then, on January 14, 2000, reality struck the market and it began a two-year downturn that stripped $5 trillion from investors’ pockets.

Now it appears that history could be repeating itself, as stocks crest record highs and insiders start to jump ship yet again…

Insider Selling Just Broke a 10-Year Record

To say Wall Street is “rigged” might be an oversimplification, but it’s not too far from the truth.

The market’s elite level traders have a distinct advantage over the average Joe, or even someone with a healthy chunk of financial education under the belt. The reason why is simple: These insiders are privy to information, resources, insider research, and tools that always put them one step ahead. By the time typical investors get the chance to catch up, it’s too late – the big dogs have already made their move and moved on to the next one.

While that’s a discouraging prospect for anyone who doesn’t dwell in the upper echelons of the financial sector, there is a bright side: The trading activity of those on the inside might be able to tell us far more about where the market is headed than any research of our own.

Case in point, when insiders start selling shares at their fastest rate in a decade, you know something has to be up – and that’s exactly what they’ve done since November of last year.

Tom McGinty reports:

Executives at some of the biggest Wall Street banks have sold nearly $100 million worth of stock since the presidential election, more than in that same period in any year over the past decade, according to a Wall Street Journal review of securities filings.

The share sales occurred as financial stocks soared since Nov. 9 on expectations of lighter regulation, lower taxes and pro-growth economic policies. The KBW Nasdaq Bank index is up nearly 20% since Donald Trump’s victory, about triple the gains notched by the broader market.

In addition to the share sales, bank executives have sold another $350 million worth of stock to cover the cost of exercising options, filings show. That is twice the amount sold for that purpose at big banks in the year leading up to the election.

Just as they did before the 2000 crash, insiders appear to be getting out while the getting is still good, and it should be a sign for the rest of us where stocks may go next.

“There’s been a massive spike in insider selling,” says Dave Kranzler. “The ratio sellers to buyers currently is 59 to 1. A ratio over 20:1 is considered bearish.”

What Average Investors Don’t See

Stocks might be hitting record highs, but there’s a reason why the Wall Street power players know it’s too good to be true. In terms of price-to-sales, stocks are more overvalued today than they were before the crash of 2008 and the crash of 2000.

Source: ZeroHedge

Essentially, the chart above means that we’re in a bubble where stock prices are inflated far beyond their actual value, which would strongly suggest that a correction is coming. Stocks might keep feeding on investor hype for a little while (just as they did leading up to the devastation in 2000), but according to this chart, any gains will be built on sinking sand. Eventually, prices would have to make a sharp reversal back to reality.

After Selling High on Stocks, Here’s What Insiders Are Buying…

If insiders are fiercely pulling out of stocks, what are they buying instead? There must be another asset they’re flocking to for safety and returns, and a recent spike in the purchase of gold-backed assets suggests that precious metals might be it.

Of course, the spike in buying that we’re seeing in these “paper gold” funds doesn’t reflect all the other insiders who are quietly accumulating physical precious metals through direct ownership. After all, gold stocks and funds still leave a thick layer of separation between owners and their metals.

So, in preparation for the crash that may be coming, exactly how many Americans have been buying physical gold these last few months? While there is no official reporting available, here at Birch Gold, we can certainly report an increase in interest. The folks that we’re speaking to seem to think that the flood is coming. Now, you’re faced with the same question that they’ve pondered: Do you want to buy your insurance before or after it hits?

Even if you’re just thinking of buying your insurance, take the first step now to educate yourself – click here to request your free info kit on gold. There is zero cost and zero obligation to you to get this invaluable information.