Key insiders sold stock in Nvidia, Dell Technologies, and Five Below last week.

Recent Insider Sales Raise Eyebrows

Last week, top executives from several well-known public companies, like Nvidia, Five Below, and Dell Technologies, offloaded substantial chunks of their shares. Insider selling happens for various reasons—sometimes it’s about diversifying portfolios or simply needing cash. However, it’s often seen by investors as a sign that could hint at a downturn, which might prompt other shareholders to consider selling too.

CNBC Pro examined recent insider trading using the financial research platform VerityData, which looked specifically at discretionary sales reported through SEC filings. This data includes details like trade date, stock price, and the total number of shares sold, while excluding trades done through pre-set 10b5-1 plans.

Here’s a rundown of some of the notable sales from last week. The percentage changes for each stock are based on a particular trading day:

ConocoPhillips: Ryan Lance, the CEO, sold 506,800 shares at an average price of $127.26, totaling $64.5 million. Remarkably, the stock has risen by 34% over the past three months.

Nvidia: Director Mark Stevens sold 221,700 shares at an average of $173.68, bringing in $38.5 million. The stock price has seen a modest rise of 1% in three months.

GitLab: Director Matthew Jacobson offloaded 1,159,900 shares at an average price of $22.72, totaling $26.4 million. Unfortunately, the stock has dropped by 41% during the last three months.

Dell Technologies: Chief Customer Officer William Scannell sold 143,100 shares for an average price of $165.00, worth $23.6 million. Verity noted a significant cluster of sales, with three insiders together selling $369 million worth in the last month. The stock has increased by 34% over the past three months.

Five Below: Director Ronald Sargent sold 20,000 shares at an average price of $231.51, for a total of $4.6 million. The stock has appreciated by 27% in three months.

Ross Stores: President Karen Sykes sold 5,500 shares at an average price of $213.40, bringing in $1.2 million. Verity pointed out that four insiders collectively sold $4.5 million worth of stock recently. The stock has gone up by 20% in the last three months.

On the flip side, there were also some notable purchases last week. For instance, Palo Alto Networks’ CEO, Nikesh Arora, filed to acquire $10 million in company stock. He bought 68,085 shares at an average price of $146.88, which totals to $10 million. Interestingly, this stock has fallen by 21% in the past three months.