When Insider Selling Is a Good Thing: 2 Stocks to Watch

Insider selling is a good thing when insiders are taking profits in stocks with increasingly bullish outlooks. In this case, one stock is a solid, cash-producing dividend growth machine, while the other is a commercial-stage biopharma with an outlook for double-digit, verging on hyper-growth. In both cases, these stocks are pulling back from early 2026 highs, driven by insider selling, and opening entry points for new investors. 

Waste Management Doesn’t Waste Time: Growth and Dividends in 2026

Waste Management (NYSE: WM) stock rose 25% from the 2025 low to set a new all-time high in early 2026. The highs prompted insiders, including the CEO, CFO, CAO, and COO, as well as a string of VPs, to sell stock. The activity helped to cap gains in Q1, but is otherwise immaterial to the stock price outlook. Insiders own only 0.18% of the stock, sales totalled less than $25 million, and other forces driving stock prices are bullish on this name. 

Institutional activity shows accumulation over the trailing 12-month (TTM) period, activity ramping in 2025 and sustaining a strong pace in 2026, and a relatively high 80% ownership rate. Equally significant is that this group has been accumulating for three years with no distribution quarters, and the earnings and capital return outlook suggests this trend will continue. 

Analysts are also bullish, with high conviction, as 25 ratings are currently tracked for 2026. The data shows this group providing support, a price tailwind, and an investment incentive, with coverage increasing on a TTM basis.

Sentiment is also firming with the Moderate Buy rating verging on Strong Buy, and the price target trend is upward. Consensus forecasts only 10% upside as of late-March, but analyst trends point to the high end, and the consensus would be sufficient for an all-time high.  

The dividend is among the reasons to own this stock. The company pays a market-beating 1.65% yield in early 2026, the payout ratio is sustainable at about 56% of earnings, and the distribution is increased annually. As it stands, this company is on track for inclusion in the Dividend Aristocrats Index by the decade’s end. Inclusion in the index is critical because it will increase buy-and-hold ownership, reduce volatility, and support the stock price uptrend. 

Ionis Pharmaceuticals: A Cautious Outlook for Blockbuster Drug

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IONS) is an RNA-focused biopharma with numerous products on the market and two that really matter. The first is Spinraza, sold through a partnership, whose blockbuster-quality sales are in decline. The other is a wholly-owned treatment called Olezarsen, which is expected to see peak sales top $2 billion. Analyst chatter estimates the $2 billion forecast as cautious, and price targets are rising as a result. 

Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ insider selling is similar to Waste Management’s, with numerous insiders selling in Q1 2026. The difference is that Ionis insiders also sold heavily in 2025, and the activity is compounded by institutional investors. Institutions own more than 90% of the stock, and their selling is a significant headwind in 2026. The data show them selling on a TTM basis, three of four quarters in 2025 and sustaining a rapid rate in Q1 2026 as they take profits in this stock. 

Analysts are the offset. Institutions have taken profits because the stock rose by more than 100% from its 2025 low, providing ample incentive. Analyst data, on the other hand, shows a consensus Moderate Buy rating from 21 analysts, with coverage increasing, the sentiment rating firm, and the price target trending upward. It forecasts a 25% upside by year’s end, while the high end of analyst targets adds more than 10% above that. 

Ionis’ growth outlook is the reason to own this stock. This company is forecast to sustain a high 20% growth pace well into the next decade, achieving profitability in 2028, and improving it each year thereafter. The long-term outlook suggests a 7X multiple relative to the 2035 forecast, providing a path to significant upside in this stock. At 7X the 2035 earnings, this stock could more than double in the coming years and still be cheap. Assuming the forecasts for Olezarsen are indeed cautious and the pipeline bears fruit, this outlook underestimates the upside potential. Ionis has numerous candidates on track for near and mid-term commercialization. 

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.