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Insider Trading after Repurchase Tender Offer Announcements: Timing versus Informed Trading

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  • Henock Louis
  • Amy X. Sun
  • Hal White

Abstract

Abnormally high net insider selling is commonly observed after repurchase tender offer (RTO) announcements although, on average, firms experience positive abnormal returns in the years after the repurchases. We explore two potential explanations: liquidity trade timing and informed trading. Consistent with the notion that fixed price RTOs are more likely than Dutch‐auction RTOs to signal undervaluation, the results suggest that insider selling after fixed price RTO announcements are driven largely by insiders who time their trades with the repurchase announcements. In contrast, selling after Dutch‐auction RTOs seems to be driven primarily by informed traders who exploit mispricing associated with the repurchase announcements.

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  • Henock Louis & Amy X. Sun & Hal White, 2010. "Insider Trading after Repurchase Tender Offer Announcements: Timing versus Informed Trading," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 39(1), pages 301-322, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:finmgt:v:39:y:2010:i:1:p:301-322
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-053X.2010.01074.x
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    2. Paul A. Griffin & David H. Lont & Kate McClune, 2014. "Insightful Insiders? Insider Trading and Stock Return around Debt Covenant Violation Disclosures," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 50(2), pages 117-145, June.
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    4. Han-Ching Huang & Hsiu-Hsin Chiu, 2017. "Insider Trading and the Classification of Seasoned Equity Offerings: Evidence from Taiwan," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 9(5), pages 58-70, May.
    5. Altanlar, Ali & Amini, Shima & Holmes, Phil & Eshraghi, Arman, 2023. "Opportunism, overconfidence and irrationality: A puzzling triad," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    6. Ota, Koji & Lau, David, 2021. "Share repurchases on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Trading Network," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    7. Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Robert Nash & He (Helen) Wang, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and insider trading," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 45(4), pages 817-854, December.
    8. Han‐Ching Huang & Pei‐Shan Tung, 2021. "Information content of insider filings after stock repurchase and seasoned equity issue announcements," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 2690-2712, April.
    9. Fei Leng & Kevin Zhao, 2014. "Insider trading around open-market share repurchases," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 38(3), pages 461-491, July.
    10. Wang, Kun Tracy & Wang, Wanbin Walter, 2017. "Competition in the stock market with asymmetric information," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 40-49.
    11. Vinh Huy Nguyen & Suchismita Mishra & Pankaj K. Jain, 2022. "Institutional trading around repurchase announcements: An uphill battle," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 57(3), pages 485-507, August.
    12. Firth, Michael & Leung, T.Y. & Rui, Oliver M., 2010. "Double signals or single signal? An investigation of insider trading around share repurchases," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 376-388, October.
    13. Chowdhury, Abu & Mollah, Sabur & Al Farooque, Omar, 2018. "Insider-trading, discretionary accruals and information asymmetry," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 341-363.
    14. Huang, Chia-Wei, 2015. "Takeover vulnerability and the credibility of signaling: The case of open-market share repurchases," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 405-417.
    15. Laurel Franzen & Xu Li & Oktay Urcan & Mark E. Vargus, 2014. "The Market Response To Insider Sales Of Restricted Stock Versus Unrestricted Stock," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 37(1), pages 99-118, February.
    16. Palani-Rajan Kadapakkam & Hongxian Zhang & Sinan Yildirim, 2021. "A reexamination of the tendering profit anomaly," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1475-1501, May.
    17. Lont, David & Griffin, Paul & McClune, Kate, 2011. "Insightful Insiders? Insider Trading and Stock Return Around Debt Covenant Violation Disclosures," Working Paper Series 19194, Victoria University of Wellington, The New Zealand Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation.
    18. Hsuan-Chi Chen & Sheng-Syan Chen & Chia-Wei Huang & John D. Schatzberg, 2014. "Insider Trading and Firm Performance Following Open Market Share Repurchase Announcements," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1-2), pages 156-184, January.

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