Shares of Aterian (NASDAQ:ATER) are in the spotlight following an insider transaction from co-founder and CEO Yaniv Zarig. In addition, shares of ATER stock are up more than 24% over the past five trading days, potentially driven by high short interest. Indeed, the stock carries a short interest as a percentage of float of 31.86%. On top of that, Aterian currently ranks no. 3 on Fintel’s short-squeeze leaderboard. With that in mind, let’s jump into the details on Zarig’s insider sale.
CEO Yaniv Zarig Sells ATER Stock
Based on a Form 4 filing, Zarig sold 166,127 shares of Aterian on March 23. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.68, amounting to a transaction total of nearly $450,000. After the sale, Zarig still owns 393,252 shares of ATER stock. However, investors should know that these shares were sold for tax purposes.
In the footnotes, it states that the shares were sold to “satisfy the Reporting Person’s tax withholding obligations upon the previously scheduled vesting of restricted stock awards held.” Furthermore, some of the shares sold went toward satisfying tax obligations “upon the previously scheduled vesting of restricted stock awards owned by the Sarig-Bulow Family Trust.”
Besides Zarig, the most recent insider transaction occurred on Dec. 22. On that day, Chief Financial Officer Arturo Rodriguez reported selling 94,152 shares at an average price of $4.16. Like Zarig, Rodriguez sold the shares to satisfy tax obligations. After the sale, Rodriguez still owns 175,730 shares of Aterian.
So, how do other insiders feel about their own company? According to Nasdaq, insiders have purchased 2.6 million shares during the past 12 months, while selling 866,717 shares. That brings the total insider net activity to 1.7 million shares purchased during the past year. Based on insider transactions from the past year, it seems that they are bullish on Aterian.
Who Else Is Betting Big on Aterian?
Tracking institutional ownership is important, as these large funds provide liquidity and support for stocks. According to WhaleWisdom, which tracks all 13F filers, 80 funds own ATER stock, a decrease of three funds from the prior quarter. Additionally, 28 funds reported increasing their existing position, while 21 funds reported decreasing their position.
With that said, let’s take a look at the top five institutional shareholders of Aterian:
- 9830 MacArthur: 4.9 million shares, or 8% ownership
- Vanguard Group: 1.9 million shares, or 3.1% ownership
- BlackRock (NYSE:BLK): 1.8 million shares, or 2.9% ownership
- Meitav Dash Investments: 675,768 shares, or 1% ownership
- Geode Capital Management: 584,904 shares, or 0.9% ownership
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
