So far this week, there has been quite a rumble under Rumble (RUM -1.56%) stock. Despite securing a contract to provide its video streaming services to a very high-profile client, investors largely traded out of the stock due to insider selling. According to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, the shares were down in excess of 11% week to date as of Friday morning.
Trumped by insider sales
The five-day trading week seemed to start off well for Rumble, as the company announced that President Donald Trump established an official White House channel that will broadcast on its streaming platform.
However, investors might have already priced in such a move, considering that much of Rumble's content leans to the right politically. Trump's signing on to Rumble services was hardly a surprise, given that.
What was clearly more concerning to the market were those insider sells, which combined were rather considerable. Chief among these was CEO Christopher Pavlovski's unloading of nearly 355,000 shares of Class A common stock, a move that left him with just under 523,000 shares. CFO Brandon Alexandroff sold far more, unloading over 8.8 million, while Chief Content Officer Ramolo Claudio sold more than 6.2 million.
NASDAQ: RUM
Key Data Points
Keep your eyes on the ball
It's understandable that investors sold out of Rumble on news of those fairly assertive managerial divestments. I don't know if I'd head for the exits only on the basis of insider sells, especially considering that the stock saw a big run-up in the wake of Trump's Election Day victory late last year.
What's most critical with Rumble, as with any stock, is the fundamental performance of the company behind it. While it's certainly worthwhile to track insider trades, what ultimately will move the share price is how the company performs as a business.
