But insider sells could mean a lot of things, Gabele says. Kids' college tuition and luxury cars don't come cheap. Neither does retirement. An executive winding down his career may start his estate planning by cashing in shares. You'll often see large sells from such execs even while other insiders are buying stock, Gabele says.
Some big cheeses sell stock on a regular basis.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Dell Computer CEO Michael Dell both do. They might be diversifying their holdings, or they could have other reasons. I'm sure that took a few shares to build. Click To View Larger Image Insiders rarely have the inside track on timing. Check out Cisco Systems.