Three AvePoint (AVPT) executives — Brian Brown, Tianyi Jiang, and Xunkai Gong — filed Form 4s in March 2026 showing ~$278K in share dispositions. Another insider selling cluster?
No. All three transactions were Code F (tax withholding) triggered by Code A (stock awards). The executives received new shares and the company automatically withheld a portion to cover taxes.
This is the second example this week — after AMETEK — of the same pattern being misread.
The transaction breakdown
| Executive | Award (Code A) | Tax withholding (Code F) | Net shares added |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Brown | Received shares | ~$X withheld for tax | Positive |
| Tianyi Jiang | Received shares | ~$Y withheld for tax | Positive |
| Xunkai Gong | Received shares | ~$Z withheld for tax | Positive |
| Total | New shares granted | ~$278K withheld | All three own MORE stock |
Every executive ended the week owning more AVPT shares than they started with. The "selling" was the IRS's cut.
Why screeners keep getting this wrong
Most insider trading screeners and alert services:
- Detect any Form 4 with share dispositions
- Flag it as "insider selling"
- Don't differentiate between Code S (actual selling) and Code F (tax withholding)
- Alert subscribers to a "bearish" event that isn't bearish at all
The result: retail investors see "3 AvePoint insiders sold stock" and draw the wrong conclusion.
The Code F pattern recognition checklist
When you see a Form 4 cluster, check for this exact pattern:
- [ ] Code A (award) on the same date or 1 day before: Stock grant triggered the sequence
- [ ] Code F (not Code S) for the disposition: Tax withholding, not open-market sale
- [ ] Shares disposed < shares awarded: Net positive — they own more after
- [ ] Multiple executives on the same date: Company-wide vesting schedule
- [ ] Amount is ~30-50% of the award value: Typical federal + state tax rate range
If all boxes check: this is payroll, not a sell signal. Move on.
AVPT vs. an actual sell signal
| Characteristic | AVPT (noise) | Actual sell signal |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction code | F (tax withholding) | S (open-market sale) |
| Trigger | Stock award vesting | Insider's decision |
| Net position change | Increased | Decreased |
| Timing explanation | Company grant schedule | Discretionary |
| Dollar context | ~$278K across 3 people | Usually much larger |
| Insider's choice | None — automatic | Full discretion |
The bigger picture: why this matters
AvePoint is a $2B+ market cap SaaS company in the Microsoft 365 data management space. Whether you're bullish or bearish on AVPT, this Form 4 cluster tells you absolutely nothing about the company's prospects.
What WOULD be informative for AVPT:
- Code P purchases by any executive: Open-market buying = genuine conviction
- Code S sales of large magnitude: A C-suite officer selling 50%+ of holdings
- 13F holder changes: Are institutional investors accumulating or distributing AVPT?
- New high-conviction fund entries: Did a concentrated hedge fund initiate a position?
Focus on the data that carries signal. Skip the noise.
Originally published at 13F Insight
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