IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/coacre/v38y2021i1p412-442.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Trading Prior to the Disclosure of Material Information: Evidence from Regulation Fair Disclosure Form 8‐Ks

Author

Listed:
  • John L. Campbell
  • Brady J. Twedt
  • Benjamin C. Whipple

Abstract

Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD) Form 8‐K filings provide a venue where managers release information to the market as a whole that they designate as being material. Using this setting, we study trading patterns immediately prior to the public disclosure of material information. We offer three main results. First, using both intraday and daily trading data, we find abnormal trading volume of 21 percent (13 percent) in the hour (day) prior to the public disclosure, respectively. Second, we find that this pre‐disclosure abnormal trading volume is concentrated in firms that are smaller, have more growth opportunities, issue fewer voluntary disclosures, and have weaker external monitoring. Finally, we find that this pre‐disclosure volume is concentrated in subsamples in which the information relates to a firm's material contracts, a firm holds investor/analyst conferences, and there is insider trading activity in a firm's shares. Our results do not concentrate in a small number of firms or industries, and do not appear to be explained by the form through which managers first release the material information (e.g., Form 8‐K, press release, website posting, or social media). Our results are also robust to controlling for the firm's other filings and peer filings that occur around the disclosure. Overall, the trading patterns we document may show that, inconsistent with the spirit of Reg FD, a subset of investors trade on information managers deem material prior to its broad, public release. Négociations précédant la communication d'information importante : données tirées des formulaires 8 K visant le réglement sur l'image fidéle La production de formulaires 8‑K visant le règlement sur l'image fidèle (règlement FD — Fair Disclosure) permet aux gestionnaires de communiquer à l'ensemble du marché l'information qu'ils qualifient d’importante. Dans ce cadre, les auteurs étudient les profils de négociation immédiatement avant la publication d'information importante. Ils obtiennent trois résultats principaux. Premièrement, en utilisant des données intrajournalières et quotidiennes, ils observent un volume de négociation anormal de 21 pour cent (13 pour cent) dans l'heure (le jour) précédant la publication, respectivement. Deuxièmement, ils constatent que ce volume de négociation anormal précédant la publication se concentre dans les sociétés de taille plus modeste, qui ont davantage de possibilités de croissance, qui communiquent moins d'information facultative et qui font l'objet d'une surveillance externe moins rigoureuse. Troisièmement, les auteurs constatent que ce volume de négociation précédant la publication se concentre dans les sous‐échantillons de sociétés publiant de l'information qui touche leurs contrats importants, tenant des conférences investisseurs‐analystes, et dont les actions font l'objet d'opérations d'initiés. Les résultats de l’étude ne sont pas regroupés dans un petit nombre de sociétés ou de secteurs d'activité et ne semblent pas s'expliquer par la forme sous laquelle les gestionnaires ont initialement communiqué l'information importante (p. ex., le formulaire 8‑K, le communiqué de presse, l'affichage sur le site Web ou les médias sociaux). Ces résultats résistent également au contrôle des autres déclarations de la société et des déclarations des sociétés analogues, à proximité de la date de publication. Dans l'ensemble, les profils de négociation que les auteurs documentent pourraient indiquer que, contrairement à l'esprit du règlement FD, un sous‐ensemble d'investisseurs négocient à partir de l'information que les gestionnaires estiment importante avant la diffusion dans le grand public.

Suggested Citation

  • John L. Campbell & Brady J. Twedt & Benjamin C. Whipple, 2021. "Trading Prior to the Disclosure of Material Information: Evidence from Regulation Fair Disclosure Form 8‐Ks," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(1), pages 412-442, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:coacre:v:38:y:2021:i:1:p:412-442
    DOI: 10.1111/1911-3846.12610
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/1911-3846.12610
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/1911-3846.12610?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jeff L. McMullin & Brian P. Miller & Brady J. Twedt, 2019. "Increased mandated disclosure frequency and price formation: evidence from the 8-K expansion regulation," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 1-33, March.
    2. X. Frank Zhang, 2006. "Information Uncertainty and Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(1), pages 105-137, February.
    3. Warren Bailey & Haitao Li & Connie X. Mao & Rui Zhong, 2003. "Regulation Fair Disclosure and Earnings Information: Market, Analyst, and Corporate Responses," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(6), pages 2487-2514, December.
    4. Collver, Charles D., 2007. "Is there less informed trading after regulation fair disclosure?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(2-3), pages 270-281, June.
    5. Jonathan L. Rogers & Douglas J. Skinner & Sarah L. C. Zechman, 2017. "Run EDGAR Run: SEC Dissemination in a High‐Frequency World," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 459-505, May.
    6. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1997. "Industry costs of equity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 153-193, February.
    7. Waymire, G, 1985. "Earnings Volatility And Voluntary Management Forecast Disclosure," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 268-295.
    8. Baljit Sidhu & Tom Smith & Robert E. Whaley & Richard H. Willis, 2008. "Regulation Fair Disclosure and the Cost of Adverse Selection," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 697-728, June.
    9. Eugene Soltes, 2014. "Private Interaction Between Firm Management and Sell‐Side Analysts," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 245-272, March.
    10. Sanjeev Bhojraj & Young Jun Cho & Nir Yehuda, 2012. "Mutual Fund Family Size and Mutual Fund Performance: The Role of Regulatory Changes," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3), pages 647-684, June.
    11. Bushee, Brian J. & Gerakos, Joseph & Lee, Lian Fen, 2018. "Corporate jets and private meetings with investors," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 358-379.
    12. Kross, William J. & Suk, Inho, 2012. "Does Regulation FD work? Evidence from analysts' reliance on public disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 225-248.
    13. Paul A. Griffin & David H. Lont & Benjamin Segal, 2011. "Enforcement and disclosure under regulation fair disclosure: an empirical analysis," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 51(4), pages 947-983, December.
    14. Keown, Arthur J & Pinkerton, John M, 1981. "Merger Announcements and Insider Trading Activity: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 36(4), pages 855-869, September.
    15. Partha S. Mohanram & Shyam V. Sunder, 2006. "How Has Regulation FD Affected the Operations of Financial Analysts?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(2), pages 491-525, June.
    16. Eleswarapu, Venkat R. & Thompson, Rex & Venkataraman, Kumar, 2004. "The Impact of Regulation Fair Disclosure: Trading Costs and Information Asymmetry," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 39(2), pages 209-225, June.
    17. Bin Ke & Kathy R. Petroni & Yong Yu, 2008. "The Effect of Regulation FD on Transient Institutional Investors' Trading Behavior," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 853-883, September.
    18. S. P. Kothari & Susan Shu & Peter D. Wysocki, 2009. "Do Managers Withhold Bad News?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1), pages 241-276, March.
    19. Christensen, Theodore E. & Heninger, William G. & Stice, Earl K., 2013. "Factors associated with price reactions and analysts’ forecast revisions around SEC filings," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 133-148.
    20. David Solomon & Eugene Soltes, 2015. "What Are We Meeting For? The Consequences of Private Meetings with Investors," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58(2), pages 325-355.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kristian D. Allee & Brian J. Bushee & Tyler J. Kleppe & Andrew T. Pierce, 2022. "Did the Siebel Systems Case Limit the SEC's Ability to Enforce Regulation Fair Disclosure?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 1235-1291, September.
    2. Aziz Simsir, Serif & Simsek, Koray D., 2022. "The market impact of private information before corporate Announcements: Evidence from Turkey," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cowan, Arnold R. & Salotti, Valentina, 2020. "Anti-selective disclosure regulation and analyst forecast accuracy and usefulness," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    2. Edward Lee & Norman Strong & Zhenmei (Judy) Zhu, 2014. "Did Regulation Fair Disclosure, SOX, and Other Analyst Regulations Reduce Security Mispricing?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(3), pages 733-774, June.
    3. Viktoriya Lantushenko & Edward Nelling, 2021. "Do more active funds still earn higher performance? Evidence from Active Share over time," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 44(4), pages 725-752, December.
    4. Yang, Jun & Lu, Jing & Xiang, Cheng, 2020. "Do disclosures of selective access improve market information acquisition fairness? Evidence from company visits in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    5. Smith, Antoinette L. & Alfonso, Elio & Hogan, Robert, 2018. "The impact of an SEC investigation on conference call participation and analysts’ forecast quality," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 148-158.
    6. Kristian D. Allee & Brian J. Bushee & Tyler J. Kleppe & Andrew T. Pierce, 2022. "Did the Siebel Systems Case Limit the SEC's Ability to Enforce Regulation Fair Disclosure?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 1235-1291, September.
    7. Christian Leuz & Peter D. Wysocki, 2016. "The Economics of Disclosure and Financial Reporting Regulation: Evidence and Suggestions for Future Research," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 525-622, May.
    8. Cristi Gleason & Zhejia Ling & Rong Zhao, 2020. "Selective disclosure and the role of Form 8‐K in the post‐Reg FD era," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(3-4), pages 365-396, March.
    9. Albring, Susan & Huang, Shawn & Pereira, Raynolde & Xu, Xiaolu, 2020. "Disclosure and liquidity management: Evidence from regulation fair disclosure," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3).
    10. Edward Lawrence & Gordon Karels & Arun Prakash & Siddharth Shankar, 2011. "Effect of regulation FD on disclosures of information by firms," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(13), pages 979-996.
    11. Beyer, Anne & Cohen, Daniel A. & Lys, Thomas Z. & Walther, Beverly R., 2010. "The financial reporting environment: Review of the recent literature," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 296-343, December.
    12. Yu, Susana & Webb, Gwendolyn, 2017. "Market adaptation to Regulation Fair Disclosure: The use of industry information to enhance the informational environment," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 1-12.
    13. Anderson, Ronald C. & Reeb, David M. & Zhang, Yuzhao & Zhao, Wanli, 2013. "The efficacy of regulatory intervention: Evidence from the distribution of informed option trading," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 4337-4352.
    14. Gomes, Armando & Gorton, Gary & Madureira, Leonardo, 2007. "SEC Regulation Fair Disclosure, information, and the cost of capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(2-3), pages 300-334, June.
    15. Jung, Boochun & Shane, Philip B. & Sunny Yang, Yanhua, 2012. "Do financial analysts' long-term growth forecasts matter? Evidence from stock recommendations and career outcomes," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 55-76.
    16. Nagar, Venky & Schoenfeld, Jordan, 2021. "Shareholder monitoring and discretionary disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1).
    17. Ji, Guseon & Dai, Bingcun & Park, Sung-Pil & Ahn, Kwangwon, 2020. "The origin of collective phenomena in firm sizes," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    18. Winnie P. H. Poon & Dorla A. Evans, 2013. "Regulation Fair Disclosure's Effect on the Information Content of Bond Rating Changes," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 19(4), pages 775-800, September.
    19. Kross, William J. & Ro, Byung T. & Suk, Inho, 2011. "Consistency in meeting or beating earnings expectations and management earnings forecasts," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1-2), pages 37-57, February.
    20. Ryan D. Leece & Todd P. White, 2017. "The effects of firms’ information environment on analysts’ herding behavior," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 503-525, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:coacre:v:38:y:2021:i:1:p:412-442. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1911-3846 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.