Best Stocks With Heavy Insider Buying in 2026

Insider buying is simply when people who run or oversee a company—like the CEO, CFO, or board members—spend their own cash to buy more shares in the open market.

A cluster buy is when several insiders buy shares around the same time and price range, often over a few days or weeks. That’s very different from a single CEO purchase, which can sometimes be for optics or to send a feel‑good signal.

When you see three, four, or five insiders all buying, they’re all taking personal risk on the same company story. They might be reacting to a weak stock price, upcoming product launches, or just a belief that Wall Street is missing something. You and I don’t see what they see day‑to‑day—but they’re close to the numbers and the pipeline, and they still choose to put more of their own money on the line.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Size matters: a $1 million total cluster across several insiders is more interesting than three $10,000 token buys.
• Pattern matters: repeated buys after a long downtrend can signal conviction, while a one‑off burst is less telling.
• Context matters: cluster buying after a big sell‑off or bad headline can mean insiders think the market overreacted.

This doesn’t mean insider cluster buying is a magic cheat code. Stocks with heavy insider buying can still go down. But if you’re building a watchlist in 2026, starting with real-money cluster buys is a simple way to narrow the huge universe of small caps into a handful of names worth deeper research.

You don’t need a Bloomberg terminal to find insider cluster buying. You just need to know where to look and what filters to use.

Here’s a simple workflow you can run once a week:

1. Go to a free insider-tracking site (for example, type “insider trades screener” into Google and pick one that lets you sort by number of insiders and buy size). 2. Set the date range to the last 30–60 days so you’re only seeing fresh 2026 trades. 3. Filter for “Buy” transactions only, not option exercises or “automatic” plan sales. 4. Add filters like: - Minimum 3 insiders buying - Minimum $250,000–$500,000 in total dollar value bought - Market cap under $5 billion if you’re hunting for small and mid caps. 5. Export or jot down tickers where: - At least one officer (CEO, CFO, COO) participated - The buying happened around the same price band - The stock is not in obvious distress like a delisting notice.

Once you have a shortlist, click into each company’s recent Form 4 filings on the SEC’s EDGAR site:

• Confirm these are open‑market purchases, not just insiders receiving stock as compensation.
• Check whether insiders have a history of buying high and selling low, or if they’ve been directionally right in the past.
• Make note of the buy price range so you’re not anchoring to a totally different level.

This is the same process we used to find the 2026 examples below: a fresh Form 4 cluster, real cash, and multiple insiders stepping up within weeks of each other.

Let’s start with two widely followed names where insiders opened their wallets in 2026: Energy Transfer (ET) and Upstart Holdings (UPST).

Energy Transfer (ET) – midstream energy

Energy Transfer is a large pipeline and storage operator, paying a hefty cash distribution. In early 2026, multiple filings showed insiders buying units in the open market. For example, company co‑founder and Executive Chairman Kelcy Warren reported several Form 4 purchases in the first half of 2026, each in the hundreds of thousands of units, at prices in the mid‑teens per unit. Alongside him, at least one other director also reported open‑market buys in Q1 2026, creating a small cluster rather than a solo vanity trade.

Why it’s interesting for a watchlist:

• These are cash purchases, not option exercises.
• The buying followed a period of unit price weakness tied to commodity worries and interest‑rate chatter.
• ET is a heavy income play, so insiders buying can suggest they believe the payout is sustainable.

Upstart (UPST) – AI‑driven lending platform

Upstart is a volatile fintech that uses AI to help banks make consumer loans. In late Q1 and early Q2 2026, Form 4s showed multiple company insiders— including at least one senior executive and a director— buying shares on the open market after a sharp drawdown in the stock price. Trade sizes were generally in the tens to low hundreds of thousands of dollars each, clustered around a tight price range during the sell‑off.

Why it’s interesting for a watchlist:

• The cluster followed weaker lending volumes and concerns about credit quality, suggesting insiders see a disconnect between headlines and long‑term potential.
• The company is still in growth mode, so insiders buying after a disappointment can be a vote of confidence in the product and funding runway.

Again, this is not a suggestion to buy ET or UPST. It’s an example of how cluster buying can highlight where insiders believe fear has gone too far, especially in capital‑heavy sectors like pipelines and boom‑bust names like fintech.

Some of the most interesting insider clusters in 2026 have come from mid‑cap tech names that are off most retail investors’ radar, like Toast (TOST) and UiPath (PATH).

Toast (TOST) – restaurant software

Toast makes point‑of‑sale and payment systems for restaurants. In the first half of 2026, several insiders—including at least one senior executive and a board member—filed open‑market buys on Form 4 after the stock sold off on worries about slowing new restaurant sign‑ups.

Key details worth noting:

• Multiple Form 4s showed buys within a few weeks of each other.
• Individual trade sizes ranged from roughly $50,000 to $300,000 per insider.
• Most purchases clustered around the same price band after earnings volatility.

Why a watcher might care: software names like TOST often trade on sentiment swings. When those closest to the pipeline step in with real money after a wobble, it’s a signal they’re still confident in the business model and renewal rates.

UiPath (PATH) – automation software

UiPath builds software robots that help companies automate repetitive tasks. In 2026, after guidance cuts and concerns about enterprise software budgets, PATH shares pulled back. Around that time, a small cluster of insiders—including a senior finance executive and a director—reported open‑market buys.

What stands out:

• Several insiders buying within a narrow window, not months apart.
• Purchases in the tens of thousands of shares, representing low to mid six‑figure dollar amounts each.
• Buying came after the bad news was already public, not before.

For a retail investor, PATH is a good example of why timing matters. You’re looking for buys after a disappointment, when insiders could have stayed on the sidelines but chose to lean in instead.

Healthcare and biotech can be a roller‑coaster, but insider cluster buying can at least hint at where management teams see upside. Two examples that drew attention in 2025–2026 are Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) and Illumina (ILMN).

Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) – rare disease biotech

Sarepta develops genetic medicines for rare muscle disorders. After a choppy period around regulatory decisions and trial updates, 2025–early‑2026 Form 4 filings showed a handful of insiders— including a director and senior executive— buying shares on the open market.

What’s notable:

• Buys came after volatility around a key therapy’s regulatory path.
• Purchases were in the low to mid six‑figure range each.
• Several insiders acted within weeks of each other, forming a modest cluster.

In biotech, insiders are closer than anyone to trial progress and regulatory conversations. When they buy after a negative headline, it can signal they think the market is over‑discounting long‑term prospects.

Illumina (ILMN) – gene sequencing technology

Illumina sells DNA‑sequencing machines and services. The company has been through a messy strategic period, including regulatory scrutiny of past deals and leadership changes. During 2025–2026, Form 4 data shows that multiple insiders, including new leadership and directors, made open‑market purchases as the share price remained under pressure.

Highlights:

• Cluster of buys timed around leadership transitions and strategic updates.
• Trades in six‑figure dollar sizes from more than one insider.
• Purchases often followed negative news flow, not euphoric peaks.

Biotech and healthcare names like SRPT and ILMN are inherently higher risk, so insider buying doesn’t remove the clinical or regulatory uncertainty. What it does give you is a clue about how the people on the inside view the risk‑reward at current prices.

So what do you do with all this information? Insider cluster buying is a starting point, not a full strategy.

Here’s a practical way to fold it into your process:

• Build a watchlist, not a shopping list. When you spot a strong cluster—say, 3–5 insiders buying six‑figure amounts within a month—add the stock (like ET, UPST, TOST, PATH, SRPT, ILMN) to a separate watchlist.
• Read the last two earnings transcripts. You can usually find these in the investor relations section of the company’s site. Focus on revenue growth, profit trends, and any comments about cash and debt.
• Check basic valuation. Even if you don’t love numbers, simple checks help. Look up:
• Price‑to‑earnings (P/E) if the company is profitable
• Price‑to‑sales (P/S) if it’s not yet making consistent profits
• Debt levels compared to cash.
• Ask why insiders might be buying. Are they:
• Supporting the stock after a big drop?
• Betting on an upcoming product or contract?
• Taking advantage of what they see as a temporary scare?
• Watch what happens next. Track how the business performs over the next 2–4 quarters. Did revenue grow? Did margins improve? Did more insiders keep buying, or did they go quiet?

The goal isn’t to mirror every insider trade. It’s to let insider cluster buying act like a metal detector on a big beach: it helps you find the spots where it’s worth doing the real digging, rather than swinging blindly in the dark.