At least one group of investors has gone bargain hunting duringthe wildest stretch on Wall Street in over a decade.

Corporate executives and officers have been scooping up sharesof their own companies at a breakneck pace in the first two weeksof March, exceeding the total of the prior two months. Insider buysare outstripping sales by the most since 2011, data compiled by TheWashington Service showed.

"When insiders are buying, they think their companies are wellundervalued," said Megan Horneman, director of portfolio strategyat Verdence Capital Advisors, whichoversees about $2.5 billion. "It can be a good sign that we'retrying to find a bottom around here—not necessarily that it is thebottom, but at least that we're trying to find the bottomhere."

With the S&P 500 tumbling as much as 27 percent from itspeak through Thursday, the increase in demand from companies'highest-ranking employees could be seen as a vote of confidence ina market that's rattled by fears over the spreading coronavirus.Companies from Apple Inc. to Microsoft Corp. and Mastercard Inc.have slashed their financial guidance, citing the virusoutbreak.

At the same time, bargains seem to be emerging after $7 trillionwere erased from equity values. At 14.5 times forecast earnings,the S&P 500 is trading at a 14 percent discount to thefive-year average.

Just two weeks into this month, almost 1,400 corporateexecutives and officers have bought shares of their own companies,including Newell Brands Inc. CEO Ravi Saligram and Kinder MorganInc. Chairman Richard Kinder. Buyers outnumbered sellers by a ratioof 3-to-2.

After a selloff that sent stocks to the fastest bear market onrecord, the surging demand is likely soothing to investors who areseeking signs for stabilization. The last time insider buyingspiked in this fashion, in July 2011, the S&P 500 was in themiddle of a 19 percent retreat before staging a 10 percent rally ineach of the next two quarters. Their rush into stocks alsocoincided with the market bottom in December 2018.

"To the extent that it's executives and board members puttingtheir own money to work, that's encouraging," said Dan Russo, chiefmarket strategist at Chaikin Analytics. "Who knows the companybetter than the people who run it?"

Of course, one could argue that the circumstances today aredifferent because those episodes took place when the bull marketwas still alive. Look back to the last two market crashes, andinsiders tended to be early in picking the bottom.

During the financial crisis, insider buying picked up in October2008 and then receded while market losses kept piling up. Demandspiked again in February 2009. The next month, stocks started arally that eventually lasted 11 years into the longest bull marketin history.

A similar pattern occurred during the bursting of the internetbubble. The surge in insider buying in August 2001 was met withpersistent selling, and they backed off. It's not until June 2002that insider buying surged again. By then, it's already threemonths into a bull market.

"It does not tell you anything about the direction of the marketbecause the market will overwhelm any insider buying based on thefear and optimism that swings markets in general every day," saidWayne Wicker, chief investment officer of Vantagepoint InvestmentAdvisers, which had about $30 billion in assets under management asof December 31.

Still, "insiders are a reasonable barometer for the outlook ofcompanies—who better to know what your future prospects may be thanthe guys that are trying to put together the strategic plan andwatching current sales and inventories than senior management?"

–With assistance from ClaireBallentine.

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