Copy an Insider: What $1,000 a Trade Would Be Worth
We copied every open-market purchase by 378 insiders with $1,000 each, on the first weekly close after the Form 4 was filed. 128 of 378 would have beaten the same dollars in the S&P 500.
By Sepehr Parsa · Founder and editor, WallStPalFind an insider
Why copy from the filing date
Insiders buy at one price, but the public only learns about the purchase when the Form 4 is filed, up to two business days later (sometimes much later when the filing is late). A reader who copies a purchase pays the price after the filing, not the insider's price. So each copy here starts at the first weekly closing price after the filing date and runs to the latest weekly price (week of Oct 2, 2026). Every purchase counts the same $1,000, whatever the insider spent.
The typical (median) insider in the list is up 0.6% on their copied purchases. Purchases whose reported price does not match the market that week (ADRs, other share classes, split mix-ups) are left out, and an insider needs at least two copyable purchases, one of them at least three months old.
Best insiders to have copied
| Insider | Purchases | Put in | Worth now | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Fralin WoodyRCEL | 4 | $4,000 | $11,232 | +180.8% |
| Aristeidis P. PittasESEA, EDRY | 2 | $2,000 | $4,590 | +129.5% |
| Heather C. GetzTELA, MYO | 4 | $4,000 | $8,085 | +102.1% |
| Jason J. N. PotterGO | 2 | $2,000 | $3,782 | +89.1% |
| Paul J. SarvadiNSP | 2 | $2,000 | $3,681 | +84.0% |
| William StaplesGTLB | 3 | $3,000 | $5,418 | +80.6% |
| James Christopher HuntKELYA | 4 | $4,000 | $7,050 | +76.3% |
| Joseph Wendell DyerEFOR | 2 | $2,000 | $3,454 | +72.7% |
| Sadasivam IyerEFOR | 2 | $2,000 | $3,454 | +72.7% |
| Jason Thomas LongLB, WBI | 2 | $2,000 | $3,452 | +72.6% |
| Harrison Fenner BollingWBI, LB | 2 | $2,000 | $3,452 | +72.6% |
| Scott Lloyd McNeelyWBI, LB | 2 | $2,000 | $3,452 | +72.6% |
| Satish DhanasekaranZBRA | 2 | $2,000 | $3,436 | +71.8% |
| C. Bradford RichmondBJRI | 3 | $3,000 | $5,046 | +68.2% |
| Nechemia Jacob PeresVIA | 2 | $2,000 | $3,319 | +66.0% |
| Erik D. RagatzGO | 3 | $3,000 | $4,971 | +65.7% |
| Thomas F. KirkMYO | 3 | $3,000 | $4,879 | +62.6% |
| Joe T. FordWEST | 3 | $3,000 | $4,657 | +55.2% |
| George ChamounACVA | 3 | $3,000 | $4,643 | +54.8% |
| David F. BaileyNAKA | 3 | $3,000 | $4,624 | +54.1% |
| Tim KutzkeySRZN | 3 | $3,000 | $4,569 | +52.3% |
| Leon O. Moulder JrZBIO | 3 | $3,000 | $4,361 | +45.4% |
| Georgios FeidakisGLBS | 5 | $5,000 | $7,199 | +44.0% |
| Lawrence B. SeidmanBWFG | 5 | $5,000 | $7,178 | +43.6% |
| William J.g. GriffithNTSK | 2 | $2,000 | $2,839 | +42.0% |
Worst insiders to have copied
| Insider | Purchases | Put in | Worth now | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Lee LekstromSTEX | 6 | $6,000 | $1,413 | −76.4% |
| Harit TalwarBETR | 3 | $3,000 | $834 | −72.2% |
| Vishal GargBETR | 3 | $3,000 | $999 | −66.7% |
| Winfried VahlandPSNY | 2 | $2,000 | $698 | −65.1% |
| Marc HoltzmanTTEC | 2 | $2,000 | $986 | −50.7% |
| Jack Jiajia HuangCOE | 10 | $10,000 | $5,566 | −44.3% |
| Romeo R. DizonIRIX | 5 | $5,000 | $2,871 | −42.6% |
| William A. HoulihanLFT | 4 | $4,000 | $2,311 | −42.2% |
| Steven F. RossiWKSP | 2 | $2,000 | $1,161 | −42.0% |
| Paul Howard SutherlandGAIA | 8 | $8,000 | $4,669 | −41.6% |
How to read it
A good copy record mixes skill and luck, and a short record is mostly luck: two purchases in a rising market can look brilliant. Look at how many purchases there are, whether the gains come from one stock, and whether the insider beat the S&P 500 or just rode it. Insiders who buy their own company's stock repeatedly and keep beating the index are rarer, and more interesting, than one big winner.
Examples
From the data: copying Joseph Fralin Woody's 4 purchases with $1,000 each ($4,000) would be worth $11,232 now, against $4,157 in the S&P 500. The most recent copied purchase was in RCEL, filed on Jun 10, 2026.
Explain it like I'm 13
Imagine the coach of a team buys tickets to every home game, and you decide to buy one ticket each time you hear he did, the next day. This page adds up how much your tickets would be worth now for every coach, so you can see whose choices were worth following, and whose were not.
Built from SEC Form 4 and 13F filings and STOCK Act reports as read by WallStPal, rebuilt every day. Prices are weekly closing prices derived from SEC data and can lag by a few weeks. Results describe what stocks did, not anyone's profit, and are not investment advice. See our method.
About this page
WallStPal explains public SEC filings and congressional stock trade reports in plain English. Nothing is for sale; the site is free and supported by ads.
How to read it
- Form 4
- The form a company insider (officer, director or owner of more than 10%) must file with the SEC within two business days of buying or selling the company's shares.
- 13F
- A quarterly list of U.S. stocks held by an investment manager with more than $100 million, filed within 45 days after each quarter ends.
- STOCK Act
- A 2012 law that requires members of Congress to report stock trades by themselves, a spouse or a dependent child within 45 days.
A real example
In January 2016, when bank stocks were falling, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon bought 500,000 JPMorgan shares with his own money, worth about $26 million. His Form 4 made the purchase public within days, and investors read it as a strong sign of confidence.
Explain it like I'm 13
We read the long, boring forms that grown-ups file with the government and tell you what they say in normal words.
Data from public SEC filings and congressional reports. Information, not investment advice. Check every number against the filing linked on the page.