Mumbai | September 24, 2025 — Insider selling has picked up pace on Dalal Street this year. Fresh data show promoters and other key insiders sold about ₹25,500 crore worth of shares in 2025 (January 1–September 16), while insider purchases totalled just ₹3,860 crore—leaving a net sell figure near ₹21,600 crore. The skew toward selling comes amid a volatile market backdrop and shifting global flows.
What the numbers say
The selling trend in 2025 follows a heavy first quarter, when private promoters offloaded ~₹54,732 crore of stock and overall private promoter ownership fell to an 8-year low of 40.58% as of June 30, 2025, according to PRIME Database. That slide coincided with record holdings for domestic institutions and a multi-quarter trough in foreign ownership.
Examples of counters that saw notable insider sales this year include Voltamp Transformers, Aditya Vision, Dr Lal PathLabs, Safari Industries, and Sigachi Industries, based on compiled disclosures. While each case has company-specific reasons (liquidity creation, estate planning, or diversification), the broader pattern points to promoters using strong prices and deep secondary-market liquidity to pare stakes.
Why insiders are selling
Three forces stand out this year:
- Liquidity windows via block deals: A steady run of large block trades has made it easier for promoters to place paper without destabilising prices, with foreign interest returning for select names when blocks are available.
- Macro and policy overhangs: Global risk-off phases, tariff/visa headlines, and FX volatility have kept investors on edge and encouraged some promoters to monetise portions of their holdings. Foreign flows have been choppy in 2025, with sizeable sector-level selling in phases.
- Portfolio hygiene: After multi-year rallies in several mid/small-cap pockets, some founders are diversifying personal wealth or funding capex and new ventures, resulting in secondary market supply.
By the Numbers (Jan 1–Sept 16, 2025)
What it means for investors
Insider selling is not automatically bearish; many transactions are pre-planned or driven by personal liquidity. But a broad rise in sell-downs—alongside falling aggregate promoter ownership—does signal that founders are using valuation and liquidity to trim. When combined with uneven foreign flows and FX uncertainty, it argues for more selective positioning, especially in richly valued small/mid caps. Watch disclosures for the type of seller (core promoter vs. PE/strategic), sale method (block vs. market), and use of proceeds.
Outlook
Into Q4, bankers still expect busy block calendars and opportunistic sell-downs, especially if secondary markets stabilise. A healthier signal would be a pickup in insider buys or increased buybacks at the margin. Until then, treat clustered promoter selling as a cue to re-check valuations, cash flows and governance before adding exposure.
Dalal Street Investments Ltd
