AI insiders sold $7.39 billion in shares before stock sell-off, Protos reports

Insiders sold shares months before Thursday sell-off

Insiders at nine US-listed AI companies sold $7.39 billion of shares from May through October, Protos reported on Nov. 6. The sales were recorded in 282 SEC Form 4 filings. A Form 4 is a filing that company insiders must make when they buy or sell company stock.

Excluding $179 million in tax-related sales, discretionary sales still topped $7.2 billion across 243 filings, according to Protos. The sales came before a sharp fall in AI stocks this week.

Key numbers from the filings

• $7.39 billion sold in total from May to October, across 282 filings.


• More than $7.2 billion in discretionary sales across 243 filings, after excluding $179 million in tax-related sales.


• The nine companies were Nvidia, Oracle, Micron, Broadcom, AMD, SanDisk, CoreWeave, Arista and Astera Labs.


• The sellers included directors and leaders at those companies.

Who sold the most

At Nvidia, director Mark Stevens sold $407 million of stock in June. Protos said his total sales this year across five filings passed 6 million shares and $1.3 billion, at prices between $210 and $235 per share. Four other Nvidia insiders added $24.5 million in sales. Protos said Nvidia closed at $181.60 per share on Thursday.

At Broadcom, co-founder Henry Samueli sold $750 million of stock in 2026, Protos reported. Three other Broadcom insiders added $33.7 million.

At AMD, seven insiders sold $262 million across 19 filings. CEO Lisa Su sold 360,000 shares for $169 million, including $55.4 million in late summer. Forrest Norrod collected $34.4 million, CTO Mark Papermaster took $26.3 million, and four others sold $32.6 million. Protos said AMD fell 17.3% on Thursday to $404.40, down 38.6% from a peak of $658.52 earlier this year.

At SanDisk, CEO David Goeckeler sold $105 million across two September filings at $1,523 to $1,587 per share. Five other insiders added $26.4 million, for a company total of $131 million. Protos said SanDisk closed at $806.43 per share on Thursday, compared with a high of $2,354.39 this year.

At CoreWeave, 12 insiders sold $2.88 billion across 141 filings this year, Protos reported. Protos also said it had documented $740 million in insider sales after CoreWeave joined the Nasdaq 100. The stock closed 68% below its 2026 high on Thursday, according to Protos.

At Micron, insiders sold $279 million across 18 filings, led by CEO Sanjay Mehrotra with $182 million. At Oracle, three insiders sold $69 million across four filings, led by Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley with $63.7 million.

AI stocks fell sharply this week

The PHLX Semiconductor Sector index, which tracks large semiconductor stocks, has fallen 32% since its October high, Protos reported. It is down 16% since the start of November.

On Thursday, US-listed stocks lost $3.2 trillion in market value in one trading session, Protos reported, citing the Financial Times. The Nasdaq 100 index fell 6.4%, Protos reported. In South Korea, the KOSPI index fell 8.5% and hit a limit-down circuit breaker, which is a trading halt set to slow a sharp fall.

Sources

• Protos