Not every Form 4 filing specifies a buy or sale of stock by a company insider. Sometimes the story is more complicated, Fool contributor Tim Beyers says in the following video.
Take Zynga (ZNGA +0.00%), the social-gaming company that recently shut down YoVille and which has struggled to keep growing traffic amid growing competition from apps and big-ticket console games such as Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V.
A recent spate of filings shows what, at first glance, looks like selling by insiders Stanley Meresman, Mark Vranesh, and and Devang Shah. But look at the footnotes and you'll find something different entirely. They didn't sell; they converted "B" shares to "A" shares. And in the cases of Vranesh and Shah, they sold only enough shares to cover the taxes involved with converting and exercising previously restricted stock. Meresman sold in accordance with a 10b5-1 programmed trading plan.
Is that a bullish sign? Tim isn't so sure. The bigger point may be that Zynga executives aren't cashing in with the stock trading only $1 a share over its 52-week low. Now probably isn't the time to be selling or shorting this stock.
Do you agree? What do you think of the insider action at Zynga? Please watch the video to get Tim's full take and then leave a comment to let us know whether you would buy, sell, or short Zynga stock at current prices.
