We recently published a list of 10 Stocks With At Least $10 Million In Insider Spending Recently. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AARD) stands against other stocks with at least $10 million in insider spending recently.

Since Donald Trump took office, the stock market has experienced a roller coaster ride. Nonetheless, despite concerns about tariffs, job cuts, policy changes, and geopolitical uncertainties, the broader market has risen by 1.46% year-to-date. Furthermore, equity strategists in a Reuters poll project that the broader market will finish the year 9% higher than its current level.

“Many analysts agree with this projection, arguing that the Trump administration’s policies won’t have long-term negative impacts on economic growth or inflation. Furthermore, Trump is often considered the most pro-stock market president in American history.

In addition, one factor that could support the bull market is the adoption of AI, which, according to Morgan Stanley’s Andrew Slimmon, could lead to a productivity boom similar to what happened with the Internet in the late 1990s. Slimmon also points out that investor behavior over the last few years seems similar to what it was in previous bull markets, and adhering to these patterns can be one of the most reliable strategies for driving portfolio outperformance.

When analyzing investor behavior, we chose to focus on insiders—high-level executives and directors within a company. Why focus on insiders? Because they often have valuable insights into a company’s strategy, plans, and next moves. For example, when a CEO or CFO invests their own money in company shares, it can signal strong confidence in the company’s potential.

While both insider buying and selling can be driven by various motives, it’s important to consider these actions in the context of the company’s fundamentals, industry trends, and market conditions. This is why due diligence is crucial before making any investment. However, insider trading activity, along with other relevant factors, can offer valuable insights into a company’s capabilities, helping investors make more informed decisions.

What stocks have seen at least $10 million in insider spending recently? To find out, we used Insider Monkey’s insider trading stock screener, focusing on stocks where at least one insider purchase since the beginning of the year was valued at $10 million or more. Although the total value of insider purchases during this period may be higher, only those worth $10 million or more were considered in this search. Since there were more than 10 stocks meeting this criteria, we selected the 10 stocks with insider purchases ranging from $10 million to $20 million, choosing those with the highest amounts within this range for further analysis.

Our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds, focusing on insider trading and stock picks from hedge fund investor newsletters and conferences. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

For each stock, we provide details on the highest individual purchase, the number of insider purchases between $10 million and $20 million since the start of the year, and the company’s current market capitalization.

Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ:AARD)

Highest Individual Purchase: $10,000,000.00

Number of Purchases Worth Between $10 million and $20 million: 2

Market Capitalization: $272.22 million

The list of 10 stocks with at least $10 million in insider spending recently starts with Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ:AARD), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. Its primary focus is on the development of small-molecule therapeutics to activate innate homeostatic pathways for the treatment of metabolic diseases.

Aardvark’s leading candidate is ARD-101, which is designed to target receptors expressed on enteroendocrine cells in the gut lumen, which play a key role in gut-brain signaling. The product is in Phase III clinical trials for hyperphagia associated with Prader-Willi Syndrome, as well as in Phase II clinical trials for hyperphagia associated with acquired hypothalamic obesity.

Aardvark Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AARD) went public on February 12. During its initial public offering, one insider made two purchases, each valued at $10 million. The insider bought 1.25 million shares at a price of $16 per share. Currently, the stock is trading at $12.73 per share.

There is no analyst coverage available for this stock at the moment, likely because this is a new stock on the market. We can expect analyst reports as the company matures in the market.

Overall, AARD ranks 10th on our list of stocks with at least $10 million in insider spending recently. While we acknowledge the potential of AARD, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AARD but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.