5. Compare, screen and follow the money

Who owns it

Funds, insiders, members of Congress and short sellers.

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  • 4 lessons
  • 19 min
About this section

Follow the money that is already in a stock: big funds and their quarterly holdings, company insiders, members of Congress, and short sellers.

What you will be able to do

  • Read a stock's institutional holders and a fund's 13F filings (HDS, 13F).
  • Read insider purchases and sales, and tell the meaningful ones (INS).
  • Follow trades disclosed by members of Congress (CG).
  • Read short interest, days to cover and daily short volume, and a squeeze watch list (SI, SIV, SIW).

Five words to know

institutional investor
a fund or firm that invests other people's money
13F
the quarterly report of holdings large US investment managers must file
insider
an executive, director or 10% owner of a company
Form 4
the filing an insider must make after trading the company's shares
short interest
shares sold short and not yet bought back
  1. 01Big holders and 13F filings (HDS, 13F)HDS shows a stock's biggest institutional holders from quarterly 13F filings, and 13F browses the funds themselves: holdings, changes, crowded positions and estimated performance.4 min
  2. 02Insider trades (INS)INS lists the trades company insiders must report on Form 4 within two business days (buys, sells, awards, gifts and tax payments) with name, size and price.5 min
  3. 03Congress trades (CG)CG lists the trades members of Congress must disclose within 45 days, with the member, the asset, buy or sell, the amount band, the owner and how late it was reported.4 min
  4. 04Short interest and squeezes (SI, SIV, SIW)SI shows short interest over time with days to cover, SIV the daily short share of off-exchange volume (a noisier number), and SIW ranks your names by how crowded the short is.5 min

Educational material about reading market data, not investment advice.