This article explores the 20 small-cap stocks insiders were buying in Q1 2025. Previously, we covered the 10 micro-cap stocks insiders were buying in Q1 2025.
President Donald Trump’s initial unilateral 10% tariff went into effect on Saturday, at least partly causing the drop in the stock market. On Sunday, the President said “I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” as reported by CNBC.
On Monday morning, the broader market index lost 1.87%, marking an 11% loss over the past five trading days, signaling the possibility of entering a bear market. Also, during Monday’s morning session, the blue-chip companies declined 2.34% and the NASDAQ Composite lost 1.57%.
Amid market uncertainty, insider trading often attracts attention. Executive stock purchases can indicate optimism, while sales might reflect personal financial decisions or investment diversification. Executives usually follow pre-arranged strategies, such as 10b5-1 plans, and insider trading should be considered alongside the company’s financial health and market conditions.
An array of Japan exchange listed fund symbols on a large trading screen.
Our Methodology
Today, we’re focusing on stocks with small market capitalizations that have seen heavy insider buying activity in the first quarter of the year. Using Insider Monkey’s insider trading screener, we identified companies with market caps between $250 million and $2 billion, where at least four insiders purchased shares in the past three months. From this list, we ranked the top 20 stocks with the highest number of insiders making purchases. Stocks that have been recently covered were excluded from our 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 note the number of insiders who acquired shares in the first quarter and the market capitalizations. Let’s take a look at the 20 small-cap stocks insiders were buying in Q1 2025.
20. NB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBBK)
Number of insiders buying: 4
Market Capitalization: $640.61 million
NB Bancorp ranks 20th among the small-cap stocks that insiders were buying in Q1 2025. This is a bank holding company for Needham Bank, offering a variety of banking products and services in the Greater Boston area. The Needham, Massachusetts-based company provides deposit accounts and commercial and residential loans, and invests in securities like U.S. treasuries, municipal bonds, and corporate bonds.
In January and March, four insiders, including the president and CEO, and CFO purchased around $802,943 worth of NB Bancorp shares at an average price of $18.47 per share. Over the past 12 months, the stock lost 12.42% and currently trades at $15.31 per share.
For the fourth quarter of 2024, the company reported net income of $15.6 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, compared to net income of $8.4 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, for the prior quarter. Operating net income, excluding one-time charges, amounted to $13.3 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, compared to operating net income of $13.1 million, or $0.33 per diluted share for the prior quarter.
One Wall Street analyst rates NB Bancorp stock as a “Moderate Buy” with a price target of $22.00. The price target suggests a 45.21% potential upside from the latest price.
19. Mitek Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MITK)
Number of insiders buying: 4
Market Capitalization: $321.23 million
Mitek Systems provides cloud-based software solutions for digital identity verification, mobile check deposits, and fraud prevention. The San Diego, California-based company offers AI-powered technologies that help financial institutions and businesses securely authenticate transactions and verify user identities. Their products include mobile deposit tools, identity verification solutions, and fraud detection services.
In February and March, four insiders, including the company’s CEO, acquired approximately $774,717 worth of Mitek Systems shares at an average price of $9.08 per share. Currently, the stock trades at $7.08 per share, having lost 36.69% since the beginning of the year.
According to StockAnalysis, four analysts rate Mitek Systems as a “Strong Buy,” with a price target of $12.88 per share. The average price target suggests a 79.39% upside from the latest price.
Mitek Systems is also one of the 10 best cloud computing stocks to buy under $10.
