Analyze Insider Transactions

This workflow creates a source-linked queue of disclosed insider transactions for an investor-relations, compliance, or research analyst. It is not a buy/sell signal: an option exercise, tax withholding, gift, or planned sale can look like a directional transaction until the underlying filing is reviewed.

Prerequisites

SECAPI_API_KEY, curl, and jq, or Node.js 18+.
An issuer ticker or CIK. This example uses JPM.

export SECAPI_API_KEY="your_api_key"

1. List recent Form 4 disclosures

curl --get --fail-with-body -H "x-api-key: $SECAPI_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "ticker=JPM" --data-urlencode "forms=4" --data-urlencode "limit=50" \
  "https://api.secapi.ai/v1/insiders" \
  | jq '{data, hasMore, nextCursor, requestId, traceparent}'

The expected result is a paginated list of normalized Form 4 records. Preserve owner name, relationship fields, transaction code and date, security title, shares, price/value when present, accession number, and provenance.

2. Build a purchase-review queue

transaction_code=P asks for the SEC code, not an inferred label. The script below writes evidence records for potential open-market/private purchases and keeps pagination visible for the next run.

const query = new URLSearchParams({ ticker: "JPM", forms: "4", transaction_code: "P",
  date_from: "2025-01-01", limit: "50", view: "agent" });
const response = await fetch(`https://api.secapi.ai/v1/insiders?${query}`, {
  headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.SECAPI_API_KEY ?? "" },
});
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`SEC API ${response.status}: ${await response.text()}`);
const payload = await response.json();
console.log(JSON.stringify({ requestId: payload.requestId, traceparent: payload.traceparent,
  hasMore: payload.hasMore, nextCursor: payload.nextCursor,
  reviewQueue: (payload.data ?? []).map((trade) => ({ owner: trade.ownerName,
    ownerTitle: trade.ownerTitle, transactionCode: trade.transactionCode,
    transactionDate: trade.transactionDate, securityTitle: trade.securityTitle,
    shares: trade.transactionShares, price: trade.transactionPrice, value: trade.transactionValue,
    accessionNumber: trade.accessionNumber, filingUrl: trade.filingUrl ?? null })) }, null, 2));

Run node insider-queue.mjs. The expected result is a JSON queue containing only returned Form 4 fields plus pagination and request metadata; it does not label a purchase as bullish. Before interpreting a record, retrieve and review its Form 4 using the accession and filing URL.

Common errors and false positives

No records only describes the requested ticker, date range, and page; it is not proof of no insider activity.
Use the returned nextCursor while hasMore is true. A single page is not a complete history.
Deduplicate by accession plus transaction identity, not owner name alone.
Code P does not establish discretionary conviction. Inspect ownership type, security title, footnotes, and the original filing.

Production considerations

Use a durable ingestion key, overlapping backfill window, and scheduled retry because corrections can arrive later. Keep alerts descriptive and source-linked, route them to a reviewer, and prohibit automatic trading or compliance conclusions from the normalized feed.

Next action

Compare the issuer’s delayed institutional disclosure with 13F holdings, making the different source dates explicit.

Compare executive compensation Extract Subsidiaries from 10-K Exhibit 21

​Prerequisites

​1. List recent Form 4 disclosures

​2. Build a purchase-review queue

​Common errors and false positives

​Production considerations

​Next action