IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/ijfiec/v26y2021i2p2690-2712.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Information content of insider filings after stock repurchase and seasoned equity issue announcements

Author

Listed:
  • Han‐Ching Huang
  • Pei‐Shan Tung

Abstract

This paper examines the information content of insider filings after stock repurchase and seasoned equity issue (SEOs) announcements. We find that when firms and insiders trade in the same directions, the absolute value of the market reaction to insiders' purchase filings after stock repurchase announcements is larger than that to insiders' sale filings after SEO announcements. Thus, although insiders' sale filings after SEO announcements still suggest that the stocks are overvalued, the signals may be less informative owing to the confounding effect of some insiders' liquidity needs. When the firms and insiders trade in opposite directions, insiders' purchases after a firm's sale dominate insiders' sales after a firm's purchase, since insiders' purchase always convey positive information about a firm's future. When the firms and insiders trade in the same direction, the abnormal returns following purchases (or sales) depend on the type of insiders who make the trade. The positive (negative) abnormal returns following purchases (sales) decrease in absolute value according to the category of insiders, which is consistent with the information hierarchy hypothesis. When firms and insiders trade in opposite directions, the results are similar, but the magnitude is weak. Based on our results, the insiders who are more familiar with the day‐to‐day operations of the firm would trade on more valuable information than other insiders. Although following CEO trades more closely results in CEOs trading more cautiously, CEOs face less litigation risk and trade more on their informational advantages after event announcements.

Suggested Citation

  • Han‐Ching Huang & Pei‐Shan Tung, 2021. "Information content of insider filings after stock repurchase and seasoned equity issue announcements," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 2690-2712, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:ijfiec:v:26:y:2021:i:2:p:2690-2712
    DOI: 10.1002/ijfe.1928
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.1928
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/ijfe.1928?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gregory, Alan, et al, 1994. "UK Directors' Trading: The Impact of Dealings in Smaller Firms," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 104(422), pages 37-53, January.
    2. Lakonishok, Josef & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1994. "Contrarian Investment, Extrapolation, and Risk," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 49(5), pages 1541-1578, December.
    3. Chang, Saeyoung & Suk, David Y, 1998. "Stock Prices and the Secondary Dissemination of Information: The Wall Street Journal's "Insider Trading Spotlight" Column," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 33(3), pages 115-128, August.
    4. Jana P. Fidrmuc & Marc Goergen & Luc Renneboog, 2006. "Insider Trading, News Releases, and Ownership Concentration," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(6), pages 2931-2973, December.
    5. Ikenberry, David & Lakonishok, Josef & Vermaelen, Theo, 1995. "Market underreaction to open market share repurchases," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(2-3), pages 181-208.
    6. Fangjian Fu & Sheng Huang, 2016. "The Persistence of Long-Run Abnormal Returns Following Stock Repurchases and Offerings," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(4), pages 964-984, April.
    7. Seyhun, H. Nejat, 1986. "Insiders' profits, costs of trading, and market efficiency," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 189-212, June.
    8. Lee, Inmoo, 1997. "Do Firms Knowingly Sell Overvalued Equity?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(4), pages 1439-1466, September.
    9. Taggart, Robert A, Jr, 1977. "A Model of Corporate Financing Decisions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(5), pages 1467-1484, December.
    10. Alan Gregory & John Matatko & Ian Tonks, 1997. "Detecting Information from Directors' Trades: Signal Definition and Variable Size Effects," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 309-342, April.
    11. Arturo Bris, 2005. "Do Insider Trading Laws Work?," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 11(3), pages 267-312, June.
    12. Lin, Ji-Chai & Howe, John S, 1990. "Insider Trading in the OTC Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(4), pages 1273-1284, September.
    13. Matthew T. Billett & Hui Xue, 2007. "The Takeover Deterrent Effect of Open Market Share Repurchases," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(4), pages 1827-1850, August.
    14. Henock Louis & Amy X. Sun & Hal White, 2010. "Insider Trading after Repurchase Tender Offer Announcements: Timing versus Informed Trading," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 39(1), pages 301-322, March.
    15. Babenko, Ilona & Tserlukevich, Yuri & Vedrashko, Alexander, 2012. "The Credibility of Open Market Share Repurchase Signaling," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 47(5), pages 1059-1088, October.
    16. Alan Gregory & Rajesh Tharyan & Ian Tonks, 2013. "More than Just Contrarians: Insider Trading in Glamour and Value Firms," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 19(4), pages 747-774, September.
    17. Lakonishok, Josef & Lee, Inmoo, 2001. "Are Insider Trades Informative?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 14(1), pages 79-111.
    18. Arturo Bris, 2000. "Do Insider Trading Laws Work?," Yale School of Management Working Papers ysm162, Yale School of Management, revised 01 Jun 2005.
    19. Loughran, Tim & Ritter, Jay R, 1995. "The New Issues Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(1), pages 23-51, March.
    20. Dirk Jenter, 2005. "Market Timing and Managerial Portfolio Decisions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(4), pages 1903-1949, August.
    21. Cziraki, Peter & Lyandres, Evgeny & Michaely, Roni, 2021. "What do insiders know? Evidence from insider trading around share repurchases and SEOs," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    22. Barber, Brad M. & Lyon, John D., 1997. "Detecting long-run abnormal stock returns: The empirical power and specification of test statistics," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 341-372, March.
    23. Huang, Chia-Wei, 2015. "Takeover vulnerability and the credibility of signaling: The case of open-market share repurchases," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 405-417.
    24. Jung, Kooyul & Yong-Cheol, Kim & Stulz, Rene M., 1996. "Timing, investment opportunities, managerial discretion, and the security issue decision," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 159-185, October.
    25. André Betzer & Erik Theissen, 2009. "Insider Trading and Corporate Governance: The Case of Germany," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 15(2), pages 402-429, March.
    26. Marsh, Paul, 1982. "The Choice between Equity and Debt: An Empirical Study," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 37(1), pages 121-144, March.
    27. Persons, John C., 1997. "Heterogeneous shareholders and signaling with share repurchases," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 221-249, June.
    28. repec:bla:jfinan:v:53:y:1998:i:2:p:701-716 is not listed on IDEAS
    29. Alan Gregory & John Matatko & Ian Tonks, 1997. "Detecting Information from Directors' Trades: Signal Definition and Variable Size Effects," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 309-342, April.
    30. Hsuan-Chi Chen & Sheng-Syan Chen & Chia-Wei Huang & John D. Schatzberg, 2014. "Insider Trading and Firm Performance Following Open Market Share Repurchase Announcements," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1-2), pages 156-184, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alan Gregory & Rajesh Tharyan & Ian Tonks, 2013. "More than Just Contrarians: Insider Trading in Glamour and Value Firms," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 19(4), pages 747-774, September.
    2. Fei Leng & Kevin Zhao, 2014. "Insider trading around open-market share repurchases," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 38(3), pages 461-491, July.
    3. Ian Tonks, 2010. "Discussion of To Trade or Not To Trade: The Strategic Trading of Insiders around News Announcements," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(3‐4), pages 408-421, April.
    4. Goergen, M. & Renneboog, L.D.R. & Zhang, C., 2008. "Do UK Institutional Shareholders Monitor their Investee Firms?," Discussion Paper 2008-38, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    5. André Betzer & Erik Theissen, 2009. "Insider Trading and Corporate Governance: The Case of Germany," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 15(2), pages 402-429, March.
    6. Michael Firth & T. Y. Leung & Oliver M. Rui, 2011. "Insider Trading in Hong Kong: Tests of Stock Returns and Trading Frequency," Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies (RPBFMP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 14(03), pages 505-533.
    7. Firth, Michael & Leung, T.Y. & Rui, Oliver M., 2010. "Double signals or single signal? An investigation of insider trading around share repurchases," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 376-388, October.
    8. Shahram Amini & Vijay Singal, 2020. "Are earnings predictable?," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 44(3), pages 528-562, July.
    9. Laurel Franzen & Xu Li & Oktay Urcan & Mark E. Vargus, 2014. "The Market Response To Insider Sales Of Restricted Stock Versus Unrestricted Stock," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 37(1), pages 99-118, February.
    10. André Betzer & Erik Theissen, 2010. "Sooner or Later: An Analysis of the Delays in Insider Trading Reporting," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1‐2), pages 130-147, January.
    11. Madura, Jeff & Marciniak, Marek, 2014. "Bidder country characteristics and informed trading in U.S. targets," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 256-284.
    12. Cheng, Louis T.W. & Davidson III, Wallace N. & Leung, T.Y., 2011. "Insider trading returns and dividend signals," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 421-429, June.
    13. Huang, Chia-Wei, 2015. "Takeover vulnerability and the credibility of signaling: The case of open-market share repurchases," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 405-417.
    14. Gębka, Bartosz & Korczak, Adriana & Korczak, Piotr & Traczykowski, Jędrzej, 2017. "Profitability of insider trading in Europe: A performance evaluation approach," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 66-90.
    15. Abu Chowdhury & Sabur Mollah & Mir A. Zaman, 2018. "What Motivates CEO and CFO Trading – Contrarian Beliefs or Superior Information?," Working Papers 2018-10, Swansea University, School of Management.
    16. Han-Ching Huang & Ren-Cyuan Chan, 2021. "Decoding insider silence: evidence from China securities market," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(7), pages 581-599, December.
    17. Van Geyt, Debby & Van Cauwenberge, Philippe & Vander Bauwhede, Heidi, 2014. "Does high-quality corporate communication reduce insider trading profitability?," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 1-14.
    18. Adriana Korczak & Piotr Korczak & Meziane Lasfer, 2010. "To Trade or Not to Trade: The Strategic Trading of Insiders around News Announcements," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(3‐4), pages 369-407, April.
    19. Malcolm Baker & Richard S. Ruback & Jeffrey Wurgler, 2004. "Behavioral Corporate Finance: A Survey," NBER Working Papers 10863, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Ojah, Kalu & Muhanji, Stella & Kodongo, Odongo, 2020. "Insider trading laws and price informativeness in emerging stock markets: The South African case," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:ijfiec:v:26:y:2021:i:2:p:2690-2712. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.interscience.wiley.com/jpages/1076-9307/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.