Most of the major stock indices have been higher for three consecutive weeks during what are considered the dog days of summer (one of the lowest-volume periods of the year as the masses head to beaches, mountains, and lakes). The weekly volume on the SPY ETF fell to 176 million shares, while the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) weekly volume was 139 million, some of the lowest reading since December 2025. Low daily trading volume means lack of liquidity - and that can translate into increased price volatility.

United Rentals is the largest rental equipment company in the world, with locations in 49 states and all Canadian provinces. The company has over 28,000 employees and approximately 1,600 rental locations in the U.S. and Canada, as well as locations in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The shares are a component of the S&P 500.

Headlines for investors to ponder of late include the flood of earnings reports; an FOMC meeting that included three votes for interest rates to be raised; war headlines out of the Middle East that flip one day and flop the next; an ever-nearing midterm election; and, just for fun, the apparent unraveling of a hedge fund that was all-in the AI craze. Suffice it to say, that has created some day-to-day uncertainty in the stock market. For their part, corporate insiders, already constrained by trading restrictions during earnings season, have responded by staying on the sidelines. On a scale where any reading above 6.00 is bearish, all of the major eight-week sell/buy ratios from Vickers Stock Research are either in the bearish zone or near to it. The NYSE ratio is 8.72, the Nasdaq ratio is 5.45 and rising, and the Total ratio (all exchanges) is 6.47. These are not 'rush to cash' ratios, but they do reflect a volatile and unpredictable juncture for stocks. Digging deeper, and in keeping with the above, Vickers' sector sentiment largely worsened over the past week. Five sectors now record bearish one-week sell/buy ratios, four are neutral, and only two are bullish (Healthcare and Consumer Staples). On the flipside, the Communication Services, Consumer Discretionary, Energy, Information Technology, and Utility sectors are all bearish this week. Broadening the view to eight-week sector ratios, Communication Services and Information Technology are bearish, while the Consumer Discretionary, Industrials, and Utility sectors are neutral and weakening. This week, analysts at Vickers highlighted insider transactions of interest at BancFirst Corp. (NGS: BANF) and SkyWest Inc. (NGS: SKYW).

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.