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The dual purpose of insider trading: Signaling quality and battling shorts

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  • Chen, Yongming
  • Li, Hui

Abstract

This paper contributes to explaining the benefit-cost puzzle of insider trading activity. We show that net insider purchase is a convex function of the quarterly earnings surprise decile in terms of mean, median, and purchase frequency. The convexity suggests that the magnitude of net insider purchases is positively associated with information asymmetry. Further evidence indicates that the majority of insider purchases are not designed to earn abnormal returns; instead, they signal firm quality when firms are in adverse situations and fight against short sellers when short interest is high.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Yongming & Li, Hui, 2023. "The dual purpose of insider trading: Signaling quality and battling shorts," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PB).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:55:y:2023:i:pb:s1544612323003835
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2023.104011
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Insider trading; Signaling; Earnings surprise; Voluntary disclosure; Short selling;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G41 - Financial Economics - - Behavioral Finance - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making in Financial Markets

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