SMITH EDWARD J purchased ~$453K in Aqua Metals, Inc. stock
Aqua Metals, Inc. (AQMS) · Data via SEC EDGAR Form 4
Price Performance · 10 days before → 90 days after trade
▲ = insider buy date
90-day return
+70.0%vs SPY -1.5%
Trade Details · Public SEC Filing
Insider
SMITH EDWARD J
Role
—
Transaction
Open-Market Purchase
Approx. Value
~$453K
Trade Date
Dec 14, 2022
Company
Aqua Metals, Inc.
Ticker
AQMSSource
SEC EDGAR Form 4
Why This Trade Stands Out
Very Strong conviction signal
Scored in the top tier across multiple factors. Fewer than 5% of insider trades receive this rating.
~$453K purchase
A meaningful investment of personal capital. The average insider purchase is around $150K, putting this in the typical range for serious positions.
4 insiders traded in the same window
When multiple insiders independently buy within 30 days, it's called a cluster. Studies show clustered insider purchases outperform solo trades significantly, because several people with inside knowledge are reaching the same conclusion.
+70.0% in 90 days (S&P 500: -1.5%)
This trade beat the S&P 500 by 71.5 percentage points over 90 days. We track performance on every insider trade so you can see who consistently outperforms.
How good is SMITH EDWARD J at picking stocks?
Full track record: win rate, average return, and performance vs S&P 500
SMITH EDWARD J wasn't the only one buying.
4 insiders at Aqua Metals, Inc. traded within the same 30-day window.
See who else bought · FreeOn December 14, 2022, SMITH EDWARD J — a corporate insider at Aqua Metals, Inc. — filed a Form 4 with the SEC disclosing an open-market purchase of approximately ~$453K in Aqua Metals, Inc. (AQMS) stock.
This transaction was part of a cluster — 4 insiders at Aqua Metals, Inc. made open-market purchases within the same 30-day window. Cluster activity from multiple independent insiders is one of the most studied patterns in insider trading research.
Under Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, corporate insiders must report all open-market stock transactions to the SEC within two business days. These filings — known as Form 4s — are publicly available on the SEC's EDGAR database. VeritySignals filters and scores the full Form 4 stream to surface high-conviction signals like this one.
In the 90 days following this trade, AQMS returned +70.0% versus -1.5% for the S&P 500 over the same period.
VeritySignals Conviction Analysis
Full Conviction Analysis
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All data sourced from publicly available SEC Form 4 filings via EDGAR · Not financial advice · Past performance does not guarantee future results.
At a Glance
More AQMS Insider Activity
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How to Read Insider Trades
What is this?
When company executives buy or sell their own stock, they must report it to the SEC within 2 days. These public filings reveal what the people who know the company best are doing with their own money.
Why does it matter?
Insiders can sell for many reasons (taxes, diversification, expenses), but they generally only buy for one: they think the stock is going up. That's why insider purchases are more predictive than sales.
What makes a trade "strong"?
We score trades on 15+ factors: the insider's role (CEO > director), trade size relative to their salary, whether other insiders also bought (clusters), and historical accuracy of the insider.
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