Directors’ share dealings and corporate insolvencies: evidence from the UK
研究了英国474家非金融公司（其中117家破产）2000-2010年间董事交易与破产概率的关系，发现破产前董事买入交易显著增加，且临近破产时买入与破产概率正相关，可能为影响市场认知以延缓破产。
This paper investigates the relation between insider trading and the likelihood of insolvency with a specific focus on the directors’ sale and purchase transactions preceding insolvency. We use a unique data set on directors’ dealings in 474 non-financial UK firms, of which 117 filed for insolvency, over the period 2000–2010. We show that the directors of insolvent firms increase their purchase transactions significantly as the insolvency approaches. The results also reveal a significant relation between three different measures of insider trading activity and the likelihood of insolvency, which is observed to be positive only during the last six-month trading period. The relation is negative for the earlier trading periods. While the earlier purchase transactions appear to be motivated by superior information held by insiders, the purchase trades closer to the insolvency date are possibly initiated by directors’ motives to influence the market's perception of the firm in an attempt to avert or delay insolvency.