Stock Markets March 16, 2026

Insider Moves: Major Purchases and Sales Reported in US Stocks on Friday

Directors and executives disclosed sizable buys in small- and mid-cap names while high-profile insiders trimmed stakes in larger firms

By Derek Hwang PTLO CPNG LOAR AMR REEMF
Insider Moves: Major Purchases and Sales Reported in US Stocks on Friday
PTLO CPNG LOAR AMR REEMF

A series of Form 4 filings disclosed Friday detail substantial insider purchases at several smaller-cap companies and significant disposals by executives and major holders at larger, publicly traded firms. Notable acquisitions include large share purchases at Portillo's, Coupang, Loar Holdings, Alpha Metallurgical Resources and Rare Element Resources. Major sales were reported at Fox Corp, Remitly Global, PBF Energy, Workday and others. The filings show a mix of confidence-building buys and large-scale portfolio reductions across several sectors.

Key Points

  • Significant insider purchases were filed for Portillo's, Coupang, Loar Holdings, Alpha Metallurgical Resources and Rare Element Resources, many executed via trusts or coded purchase transactions.
  • Large-scale disposals were disclosed at Fox Corp, Remitly Global, PBF Energy and Workday, with aggregate proceeds ranging from tens to hundreds of millions of dollars.
  • The activity spans multiple sectors - consumer retail and restaurants, e-commerce, mining and metals, energy, fintech and enterprise software - indicating broad ownership adjustments.

Overview

Regulatory filings submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission and disclosed Friday show a disparate set of insider transactions across U.S.-listed companies. Several directors and senior officers accumulated stakes in their companies through purchases executed in mid-March, while other insiders, including executive officers and large institutional shareholders, sold sizeable blocks of shares. The disclosures span restaurant and retail operators, e-commerce, coal and metallurgical suppliers, lithium and rare element explorers, media, fintech and enterprise software names.


Top buys

  • Portillo's Inc. (NASDAQ: PTLO) - Director Lee Eugene I Jr. bought 286,000 Class A shares on March 13, 2026, according to a Form 4 filing. The shares were acquired at a weighted average price of $5.18 in multiple trades priced between $5.02 and $5.34, producing a total reported transaction value of $1.48 million. The purchases were executed through a family trust. After the transaction Lee Eugene I Jr. directly owns 60,798 shares and indirectly owns 416,250 shares of the company’s stock. The filing notes that Portillo's shares are trading near a 52-week low of $4.41 and have fallen 57% over the past year. The company’s most recent public results for the fourth quarter of 2025 showed earnings per share of $0.08 versus the $0.03 consensus, an EPS surprise of 166.67%, and revenue of $185.7 million compared with expected revenue of $184.91 million.

  • Coupang, Inc. (NYSE: CPNG) - Director Neil Mehta purchased a total of 7,350,104 Class A common shares across three separate transactions valued at about $136.5 million. On March 11, 2026 Mehta bought 2,017,241 shares at prices ranging from $18.4850 to $19.0100. On March 12 he added 3,000,000 shares at prices between $18.5000 and $18.9000. The final tranche, on March 13, consisted of 2,332,863 shares at prices spanning $18.2177 to $18.7400, per the Form 4 filing.

  • Loar Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LOAR) - Charles Dirkson R, serving as Director, President, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Co-Chairman, bought common shares in multiple transactions from March 10 through March 12, 2026, totaling $2.97 million. The purchases were made through the Charles Family Trust 13, according to the amended Form 4 filing. The filing states these acquisitions occurred while the stock was trading near its 52-week low of $62.05, with a current price of $63.03 after a 9.3% decline over the past week.

  • Alpha Metallurgical Resources (NASDAQ: AMR) - Director Kenneth S. Courtis reported multiple purchases executed on March 11, 2026, that totalled $1.8 million. The transactions were coded as purchase transactions and covered 10,000 shares with per-share prices ranging from $185.28 to $187.87. The breakdown provided in the filing lists 2,598 shares at an average price of $185.28, 611 shares at $185.91, 4,052 shares at $187.36 and 2,739 shares at $187.87. After these purchases Courtis directly owns 866,537 shares. The stock was reported trading at $187.86 and had risen 11% over the past week.

  • Rare Element Resources LTD (EXCHANGE: REEMF) - Director James N. Blue was reported to have purchased 100,149,060 common shares on March 10, 2026 for a total price of $24,035,774.40. The Form 4 filing records that after this purchase Mr. Blue directly owns 460,889,576 shares. The company’s shares have moved sharply in recent sessions, trading at $0.75 and showing a 34% gain over the past week.


Top sells

  • Fox Corp (NASDAQ: FOX) - Executive Chair and CEO Lachlan Murdoch sold Class A common stock in multiple transactions between March 11 and March 13, 2026, with aggregate proceeds of about $65.4 million, according to the Form 4 filing. Reported sale prices ranged from $56.65 to $60.44. The filing details include a March 11 sale of 240,404 shares at a weighted average price of $57.73, with individual sale prices between $57.28 and $58.27, generating $13,877,523. The filing also shows a sale of 2,343 shares at an average price of $58.31, totaling $136,610. The company’s shares were trading at $52.02 at the time of the report, down 19.4% year-to-date; the filing notes a market capitalization of $24.4 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85.

  • Remitly Global Inc. (NASDAQ: RELY) - Three related holders - Naspers LTD, PayU Fintech Investments B.V., and Prosus N.V. - reported the sale of 12,000,000 shares of common stock on March 12, 2026 at a per-share price of $15.98, for total proceeds of $191.76 million. Following the sale the entities continue to hold 13,441,745 shares and indicated that they will no longer be 10% holders of the digital remittance company. The filing also notes Remitly's market capitalization of $3.27 billion and that the company reported revenue growth of 29% over the last twelve months.

  • PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE: PBF) - Control Empresarial de Capitales S.A. de C.V., a reported ten percent owner, disclosed selling 645,000 shares of Class A common stock over two days for aggregate proceeds of $27,993,833. Sales were executed at prices between $42.9901 and $43.785. The filing highlights that PBF shares have risen 118% over the past year. The Form 4 indicates a March 12 sale of 265,000 shares at a weighted average price of $43.5507 in multiple transactions at prices between $43.30 and $43.785; following the dispositions Control Empresarial held 25,126,098 shares.

  • Fox Corp (NASDAQ: FOX) - John Nallen - The company’s President and COO, John Nallen, is reported to have sold approximately $26.5 million in Class A common stock on March 11 and 12, 2026. The transactions were completed across multiple trades with prices ranging from $57.67 to $58.32 per share. On March 11 he sold 239,907 shares at a weighted average price of $57.73, raising about $13,848,871; an additional 2,402 shares were sold at a weighted average price of $58.32 for $139,904.

  • Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY) - David A. Duffield, identified as a ten percent owner, sold 107,500 shares of Class A common stock on March 10, 2026, according to an SEC filing. The reported proceeds totaled $15.3 million. Sales were executed in multiple tranches with prices ranging from $140.0233 to $146.725. The filing lists the tranches as 4,300 shares at a weighted average price of $140.0233; 14,176 shares at $141.1599; 52,631 shares at $142.0226; 31,693 shares at $142.783; 2,000 shares at $144.199; 2,100 shares at $145.1569; 590 shares at $146.3334; and 10 shares at $146.725. The filing also notes Workday shares have dropped 40% over the past six months and were trading at $134.14.


Context and interpretation

The set of filings released Friday shows both concentrated accumulation and notable divestment activity. Insider purchases are concentrated in smaller and mid-cap names, several of which are trading near recent lows or showing notable short-term price moves. The larger-dollar sales are concentrated among widely held, high-profile companies and by institutional holders, generating multi-million dollar proceeds. The filings show a mix of motivations could be present, but the documents themselves report only the transactions and resulting ownership positions.

Investors often view insider purchases as a potential signal of confidence by those with intimate knowledge of a company’s prospects, while insider sales can reflect a wide range of personal, tax or portfolio-management decisions. The regulatory filings reported here document shifts in ownership but do not provide the underlying rationale for the trades.


Summary takeaways

  • Directors and executives reported large purchases in Portillo's, Coupang, Loar Holdings, Alpha Metallurgical Resources and Rare Element Resources, often executed through trusts or coded purchase transactions.
  • Major sales were reported at Fox Corp, Remitly Global, PBF Energy and Workday, with proceeds ranging from the tens of millions to nearly $200 million in a single transaction by related institutional holders.
  • The disclosures highlight active position adjustments across sectors including consumer-facing chains, e-commerce, mining and metals, energy, fintech and enterprise software.

Closing note for investors

Monitoring insider trading activity can provide useful information about how corporate insiders and principal shareholders are changing their exposure to company stock. While purchases can be interpreted as votes of confidence, sales do not necessarily imply negative company prospects; they can be driven by portfolio rebalancing, tax considerations, estate planning or personal financial needs. As with any single data point, insider transactions should be considered alongside a broader set of fundamentals and market indicators when making investment decisions.

Risks

  • Insider sales reported at large-cap firms like Fox Corp, Remitly and Workday may reflect non-operational factors such as portfolio diversification or tax planning rather than changes in company fundamentals - impacts observed in media, fintech and software sectors.
  • Concentrated purchases by insiders in smaller-cap companies trading near 52-week lows may carry elevated market and liquidity risk, particularly in mining, specialty resource and small-cap consumer names.

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