Insider Ownership
Insiders are a company's officers, directors, relatives or anyone else with access to key company information before it's made available to the public. Savvy investors, making the reasonable assumption that insiders know a lot more about their company's prospects than the rest of us, pay close attention to what insiders do with company shares. And, because insider ownership and trading can impact share prices, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires companies to file reports on these matters, giving investors the opportunity to have some insight into insider activity.
(For further information on insiders, see Defining Illegal Insider Trading and Uncovering Insider Trading.)