The number of U.S. regional bank insiders buying shares in their own companies reached a three-year high during Q2, in what appears to be a vote of confidence in the sector after the recent collapse of a few regional lenders, according to research firm VerityData.
The number of insider buyers jumped to 778 in Q2 through May 26 from 524 during all of Q1,
The magnitude of this buying frenzy has not been seen since Q1 2020, when the covid-19 pandemic prompted a stock-market selloff.
During Q2 through May 26, 2023, a total of 244 banks experienced heavy insider buying, including US Bancorp (USB), Zions Bancorp (ZION), SoFi Technologies (SOFI) and East West Bancorp (EWBC).
Another sign of bull sentiments among bank insiders, the buyers-to-sellers ratio hit a record high of 14.7 to 1 in Q2, VerityData said, compared with the average quarterly ratio of 1.8 to 1.
Notwithstanding, regional bank stock values remain low as a result of several tech banks’ failure stating in March.
By Max Gottlich/Seeking Alpha
