Here is a detailed look at the most material insider transactions reported on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.
Top insider purchases
First American Financial Corp saw meaningful director buying when Parker S. Kennedy acquired 59,841 shares valued at $4,050,101. Those purchases took place on February 13 and February 17, 2026, and were coded as "P" to denote direct purchases. At the time of reporting, the stock is trading at $66.15, carries a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03 and yields 3.33% in dividends. InvestingPro’s metrics rate the company’s overall financial health as "GREAT" with a score of 3.03 and flag the share price as appearing undervalued by their assessment.
LanzaTech Global, Inc. registered a significant block purchase by a 10% owner, Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, which acquired 969,858 shares on January 21, 2026. The transaction was valued at $4.3 million, consisting of 860,000 shares bought at $5.00 per share and a further 109,858 bonus shares issued at no cost.
KKR & Co. Inc. director Matt Cohler added 43,872 shares to his holdings on February 17, 2026, spending $4,514,428 in total. The weighted average cost per share was $102.90, with individual trades executed at prices ranging from $102.76 to $103.01. After this purchase Cohler directly owns 45,477 shares and also holds an additional 97,568 shares indirectly through a trust.
DraftKings Inc. director Harry Sloan purchased 100,000 shares of Class A Common Stock on February 17, 2026. The shares were acquired at prices between $21.76 and $22.00, amounting to $2.18 million. Following the purchase Sloan directly owns 350,219 DraftKings shares.
Flywire Corp. saw activity from Voss Capital and related entities, which bought 25,000 shares on February 13, 2026. The transaction was executed by Voss Value Master Fund, L.P., at prices ranging from $10.8980 to $11.1179 for a total outlay of $274,795. After this trade, Voss Value Master Fund directly owns 2,300,000 shares of Flywire.
Top insider sales
Johnson & Johnson reported several large disposals and option exercises by senior executives. Joseph J. Wolk, the company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, sold 84,654 shares on February 17, 2026, generating roughly $21.7 million. Those shares were sold at prices between $242.68 and $242.99 per share. In related activity, Wolk exercised options to acquire 66,475 shares through various equity awards at exercise prices ranging from $0.00 to $131.94, reflecting an aggregate cost of $8.19 million for the exercise transactions.
Also at Johnson & Johnson, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer James D. Swanson sold 41,559 shares across February 13 and February 17, 2026, for approximately $15.1 million. The sales occurred at prices ranging from $242.70 to $243.76 per share. Swanson additionally exercised options to acquire 42,418 shares under several equity awards at prices spanning $0.00 to $165.89, for a total exercise-related sum of $10,202,709.
Howmet Aerospace disclosed that Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer Neil Edward Marchuk sold 45,150 shares on February 18, 2026, raising about $11.36 million from disposals executed at prices between $250.07 and $253.00. The company also reported that Marchuk sold 28,651 shares on February 16, 2026, to cover tax obligations arising from a vesting stock award; those shares were valued at $7,168,766 at $250.21 per share.
UWM Holdings Corp recorded large sales by President and Chief Executive Officer Mat Ishbia through SFS Holding Corp. Between February 13 and February 18, 2026, SFS Holding Corp sold 1,898,622 shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan, producing proceeds of $9.28 million at prices from $4.85 to $4.94 per share. The sequence of transactions also included the conversion of 6,600,000 UWM Paired Interests into Class A Common Stock.
Exelixis reported that Patrick J. Haley, Executive Vice President, Commercial, sold 67,814 shares on February 17, 2026, for approximately $2.95 million. Those sales occurred at prices between $43.50 and $43.84 per share. At the time of reporting Exelixis is trading at $44.46, carries a P/E ratio of 15.9 and a PEG ratio of 0.25, and InvestingPro’s assessment suggests the company is undervalued and has an "EXCELLENT" financial health score.
Context and takeaways
Monitoring insider transactions can provide investors with supplementary perspective on how corporate insiders are allocating capital relative to the market. In this reporting window, director-level purchases at First American and KKR stand out for their size and the fact they were direct purchases. Large sales by senior executives at Johnson & Johnson, Howmet Aerospace, and others included both open-market disposals and option exercises tied to equity awards. Some transactions were executed as part of pre-arranged plans, such as the 10b5-1 program disclosed for UWM Holdings.
Insider purchases are commonly interpreted as a signal of confidence by those with direct knowledge of company prospects, while insider selling can reflect a variety of non-operational reasons including diversification, tax liabilities or other personal financial considerations. As always, observers should weigh insider activity together with company fundamentals and other available data before drawing investment conclusions.
Key points
- Parker S. Kennedy’s direct purchase of 59,841 shares in First American totaled $4,050,101 and was recorded on February 13 and 17, 2026.
- Large option exercises and open-market sales at Johnson & Johnson included 84,654 shares sold by CFO Joseph J. Wolk and 41,559 shares sold by CIO James D. Swanson, alongside substantial option exercises.
- Transactions spanned multiple sectors including financial services, asset management, healthcare, aerospace, payments and gaming, with several trades flagged as undervalued by InvestingPro metrics.
Risks and uncertainties
- Insider selling does not necessarily indicate negative firm-level outlooks; sales may be driven by diversification or tax needs, which affects interpretation across sectors such as healthcare and aerospace.
- Certain transactions were part of pre-arranged programs or involved option exercises, which can complicate interpreting the timing and motivation behind disposals, notably in mortgage and corporate finance-related securities.
- Valuation assessments referenced in the disclosures come from InvestingPro metrics and reflect that service’s analysis; such third-party valuations are one input among many for investors considering these companies.
Tracking these disclosures alongside fundamental company data can help investors better assess what insider behavior may or may not imply about future corporate performance.