$134M in Insider Moves: What It Might Mean for KMI, ISRG and QS

Insider buying and selling are key indicators for investors to assess the trajectory of different stocks.

Insider buying is often considered a bullish signal because those who know the company the best are loading up on shares. It suggests that positive developments are on the horizon—which could lead to a rally—or that the insider sees long-term value in a stock.

Meanwhile, insider selling is often considered bearish because individuals are looking to reduce exposure to their own firms. 

However, not all insider buys and sells are equally relevant. Here’s what recent insider activity at three high-profile companies—Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI), Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG), and QuantumScape (NYSE: QS)—reveals about where these stocks could be headed.

Kinder Morgan: Co-Founder Executes $26 Million Buy

First up is natural gas giant, Kinder Morgan. On Oct. 27, the company saw an insider purchase worth just under $26 million. This is the first insider buy that MarketBeat has tracked for Kinder Morgan this year, excluding a handful of congressional purchases.

Notably, the $26 million purchase was from Kinder Morgan’s co-founder, Richard D. Kinder.

Despite stepping down from his role as Kinder Morgan's CEO in 2015, Kinder still holds the position of Executive Chairman. The person in this role typically leads a company’s Board of Directors and helps develop its long-term strategy, which means that Kinder likely still has deep knowledge of KMI’s operations. 

Kinder Morgan shares haven’t done much in 2025, providing a total return of negative 1%. This lack of performance may indicate that Kinder sees a long-term opportunity in the company's shares. 

His buy is equal to around 3x the $8.7 million in insider sales tracked at Kinder Morgan throughout 2025, appearing to be a moderately bullish indicator.

Intuitive Surgical: Insiders $36 Million Sell a Warning Sign?

Next up is one of the world’s highest-quality healthcare stocks, Intuitive Surgical. The company has come to dominate the robotics-assisted surgery market, with shares increasing by more than 800% over the last decade. With a market cap of approximately $189 billion, Intuitive Surgical is one of the world’s 15 most valuable healthcare stocks.

From Oct. 24 to Oct. 29, ISRG saw around $36 million worth of insider selling. This comes at a somewhat interesting juncture, a shares spiked by 13.9% on Oct. 22 and by another 4.6% on Oct. 23 following a very impressive Q3 earnings report. 

The sales that follow raise questions about whether these individuals are looking to get out of the stock after its significant gain.

But here’s the catch: these trades were all executed under 10b5-1 plans—prearranged trading schedules that are designed to prevent insiders from acting on nonpublic information. Thus, generally speaking, 105b-1 plan trades are considered neutral, rather than bearish, signals. Columbia Law School researchers actually found early evidence that stocks with 105b-1 trades often see “flat or slightly positive abnormal returns” afterward.

QuantumScape: Discretionary Insider Selling Follows Massive Stock Surge

Last up is QuantumScape, which has seen its shares explode by more than 350% since the beginning of June. 

The company is developing next-generation batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), which have the potential to be much longer-lasting than current EV batteries, addressing a key choke point for prospective buyers.

However, the firm still has no revenue and has a market cap north of $11 billion. That is why it’s not so surprising to see over $72 million of insider sales since the end of July, with more than half of those sales occurring in October.

Notably, the vast majority of these October sales were discretionary, or not made under a 105b-1 plan. This clearly positions QuantumScape’s recent insider selling as a bearish indicator. 

Adding weight to this idea is the fact that MarketBeat hasn't tracked any insider buying at QuantumScape in October. Recent insider selling combined with QuantumScape’s rapid appreciation suggests that insiders have limited confidence in the company's near-term valuation. 

Insider Trades Reveal Diverging Stock Outlooks

Insiders at Kinder Morgan, Intuitive Surgical, and QuantumScape are providing investors with a broad spectrum of signals. Kinder’s $26 million buy implies long-term value and insider confidence. Intuitive Surgical’s insider sales look routine and don’t suggest concern. QuantumScape’s giant uptick in discretionary sales is particularly noteworthy, potentially signaling that insiders believe the stock has outpaced fundamentals. 

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The article "$134M in Insider Moves: What It Might Mean for KMI, ISRG and QS" first appeared on MarketBeat.