Sample Research Note: Company ABC (Fictional)

Educational guide · Last Updated 2026-05-31 · All guides

This walkthrough uses a fictional large-cap consumer issuer, “Company ABC,” to show how three public disclosure types answer three different questions. Dollar figures and dates are illustrative; the logic mirrors real research notes.

Fictional example only. No real issuer is referenced. This is not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security.

Step 0: Write one research question

“Over the next two to four quarters, is institutional exposure to ABC rising in share count—not only because of price—and does insider activity look routine or unusual relative to the past two years?”

Step 1: 13F snapshot (quarter-end holdings)

A hypothetical 13F line shows Manager XYZ increased ABC shares by 8% quarter-over-quarter while the S&P 500 weight in the same book fell. Market value rose 12%, but share count rose 8%—so part of the story is accumulation, not only appreciation.

Finding: share count up; not a headline “new position” story.
Limitation: filing is 45 days after quarter end; price may have moved.
Not concluded: “fund is bullish”—only “reported holdings increased in shares.”

Step 2: Form 4 (insider transaction)

Two weeks after quarter end, ABC’s CFO files Form 4 with code “S” for 15,000 shares under a disclosed 10b5-1 plan. A director files code “P” for 2,000 shares in the open market.

CFO sale: likely low information under plan; note size vs. historic plan sales.
Director purchase: worth tracking if repeated; one small buy is weak alone.
Not concluded: “insiders are bearish” because of one planned sale.

Step 3: Forecast claim (media pundit)

A newsletter claims ABC will outperform the sector ETF over 90 trading days. Before checking any leaderboard, write: “Direction vs. XLY, horizon = 90 trading days from publish date T, binary hit/miss.”

If the pundit’s prior 90-day sector calls are near 50% vs. benchmark, treat as weak evidence.
If track record is strong but sample is 12 calls, note small-n risk.

Step 4: Synthesis (what the notebook says)

13F: gradual institutional add in shares. Insiders: mixed; planned sale dominates headline but open-market buy is small. Forecast: unverified until horizon and benchmark are fixed. Overall: moderate institutional support; insider file does not confirm bearish narrative; pundit claim parked until scored.

Step 5: What would change the view

Next 13F shows flat share count → downgrade institutional story.
Cluster of open-market sales by CEO/CFO without plans → revisit insider concern.
Forecast fails vs. stated benchmark → remove pundit from thesis.

Bottom line

Good notes separate findings by filing type, state lags explicitly, and list falsifiers. Copy this structure for real issuers using our workflow guide.

Combine 13F, Insider, and Forecast Signals

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