February 2023 144 Market Report

Aggregate 144 Market Volume:

In February 2023, the total reported value of Form 144s jumped 136% from a very slow January. This significant month-over-month increase in value is especially reflected in a 336% increase in the total number of shares registered to sell, as well as a 68% increase in forms filed. These major gains mainly reflect a large jump in discretionary filings, while Form 144s pursuant to 10b5-1 plans increased only marginally across the board. This may indicate a shift towards discretionary selling as investors and insiders react to the market's volatility. When last month's numbers are compared to February 2022, shares registered to sell clocked in at almost 400% over last year's shares. Given that the total reported value of Form 144s also increased by 108%, along with a year-over-year filing increase of 165%, the significant leap in registered shares may be due to the market's decline amidst a general rise in selling.

[View the Full Market Report]

Top 5 Brokers for February 2023:

In February, Goldman Sachs edged out Morgan Stanley for first place, claiming the top title due to their role in the Walton Family Holdings Trust's $1.5 billion filing at WMT (see table, next page). Morgan Stanley took second place in both value brokered and number of Form 144s filed, while Bank of America slid into third place. Fidelity secured fourth place in value brokered, due in part to their top spot in filing volume. Lastly, boosted by their MasterCard Foundation filing (next page), BMO Financial rounded out the Top 5 rankings for February.

Top 144 Filings for January 2023:

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Research

The Washington Service Research Team