How to Get SEC Insider Trading Data in Python

Get an API key

The raw filings are free on the SEC's EDGAR system, but parsing the XML and joining it to ticker / CIK / CUSIP metadata is the hard part — which is what the insider trading API does for you. Create a free key from the dashboard (no credit card; the free tier covers 15,000 calls a month), then keep it out of source control by reading it from an environment variable:

pip install requests
export FORM4API_KEY="your_api_key"   # from form4api.com/dashboard

Your first request

Fetch the most recent Form 4 transactions for a ticker. The API key goes in the X-Api-Key header; the query parameters control the filter:

import os
import requests

API_KEY = os.environ["FORM4API_KEY"]
BASE = "https://api.form4api.com"

resp = requests.get(
    f"{BASE}/v1/transactions",
    params={"ticker": "AAPL", "per_page": 50},
    headers={"X-Api-Key": API_KEY},
    timeout=30,
)
resp.raise_for_status()
transactions = resp.json()

print(f"Fetched {len(transactions)} transactions")
for t in transactions[:5]:
    print(t["transactionDate"], t["transactionCode"],
          t["sharesAmount"], "@", t["pricePerShare"])

Each record is a parsed transaction with the insider, transaction code, share count, price, and post-trade balance. The full field list is in the API docs.

Filtering for the signal

Most Form 4 rows are mechanical — grants, tax withholding, option exercises. The high-signal subset is open-market purchases (transaction code P), because an insider generally buys for only one reason. Pass code=P to return only purchases, then drop pre-scheduled Rule 10b5-1 plan trades client-side, since they carry no information advantage:

resp = requests.get(
    f"{BASE}/v1/transactions",
    params={"ticker": "AAPL", "code": "P", "per_page": 50},
    headers={"X-Api-Key": API_KEY},
    timeout=30,
)
resp.raise_for_status()

# Open-market buys, excluding pre-scheduled 10b5-1 plan trades
buys = [t for t in resp.json() if not t.get("is10b5Plan")]
print(f"{len(buys)} discretionary open-market buys")

For the full meaning of every transaction code, see the Form 4 guide; for why simultaneous buys matter more, see cluster buy signals.

Paging through history

One request returns the latest page. To walk further back, increase per_page or request successive pages until a short page comes back. A simple loop that collects everything for a ticker:

def all_transactions(ticker, code=None, per_page=100):
    page, out = 1, []
    while True:
        params = {"ticker": ticker, "per_page": per_page, "page": page}
        if code:
            params["code"] = code
        r = requests.get(f"{BASE}/v1/transactions", params=params,
                         headers={"X-Api-Key": API_KEY}, timeout=30)
        r.raise_for_status()
        batch = r.json()
        out.extend(batch)
        if len(batch) < per_page:
            break
        page += 1
    return out

history = all_transactions("AAPL", code="P")
print(f"{len(history)} open-market buys in history")

Check the docs for the exact pagination parameters and your plan's rate limits before running large backfills.

Real-time with webhooks

Polling is fine for analysis, but for alerts you want a push. Register a webhook from the dashboard and receive a POST on every new transaction within minutes of EDGAR publication. A minimal Flask receiver:

from flask import Flask, request

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.post("/form4-webhook")
def on_transaction():
    event = request.get_json()
    # TODO: verify the HMAC-SHA256 signature header before trusting the payload
    tx = event["data"]
    print("new Form 4:", tx["transactionCode"], tx["sharesAmount"])
    return "", 204

Payloads are signed with HMAC-SHA256 — always verify the signature before acting on a webhook. Webhooks are available on the paid plans; see the docs for the signing scheme and event types.

Full script

Putting it together — a single file that prints the recent discretionary open-market buys for a ticker, sorted by dollar value:

import os
import requests

API_KEY = os.environ["FORM4API_KEY"]
BASE = "https://api.form4api.com"

def recent_buys(ticker, limit=10):
    r = requests.get(
        f"{BASE}/v1/transactions",
        params={"ticker": ticker, "code": "P", "per_page": 100},
        headers={"X-Api-Key": API_KEY},
        timeout=30,
    )
    r.raise_for_status()
    buys = [t for t in r.json() if not t.get("is10b5Plan")]
    buys.sort(key=lambda t: t["sharesAmount"] * t["pricePerShare"], reverse=True)
    return buys[:limit]

for t in recent_buys("AAPL"):
    value = t["sharesAmount"] * t["pricePerShare"]
    print(f'{t["transactionDate"]}  {t["sharesAmount"]:>10,.0f} sh  ' +
          f'@ {t["pricePerShare"]:>8,.2f}  =  {value:>14,.0f}')

Ready to build it for real? Grab a free key on the insider trading API page, or read the full reference docs.

Frequently asked questions