Insiders Load Up on These 2 Stocks – Goldman Sachs Thinks Only One Is Worth Buying

Insider buying is one metric many investors watch closely. Corporate executives and board members usually understand their businesses better than outside investors, and when they spend their own money buying shares, it can reflect confidence in the company's outlook. While insiders may sell stock for many personal or financial reasons, purchases are often viewed as a stronger display of conviction.Claim 55% Off TipRanksUnlock hedge fund-level data and powerful investing tools for smarter, sharper decisions Discover top-performing stock ideas and upgrade to a portfolio of market leaders with Smart Investor Picks Academic studies have repeatedly found that insider purchases can have predictive value for future stock returns. Research from the University of Michigan's H. Nejat Seyhun found that aggregate insider buying activity predicted a meaningful portion of future market returns, while later studies from researchers Josef Lakonishok and Inmoo Lee also concluded that insider purchases tend to be more informative than insider sales. More recent research has continued to support the idea that insider buying can provide useful clues, particularly in smaller companies and during periods of market uncertainty. Of course, insider buying is not a crystal ball. Some executives buy right before the stock takes off, while others seem to have the same market timing skills as a guy buying meme stocks. Still, when the people running the company are reaching into their own wallets, investors tend to pay attention. Against this backdrop, we used the Insiders' Hot Stocks tool at TipRanks to look up two stocks that insiders are snapping up – but when we checked in with the analysts at Goldman Sachs, we found that they did not entirely agree. Here are the details. Affiliated Managers Group (AMG) The first stock we'll look at is Affiliated Managers Group, a Florida-based financial services firm that works through a network of partners and affiliates, providing a full range of asset management services. The company follows a basic strategy that is simple to articulate: it invests in a wide array of high-quality firms and allocates its portfolio resources into high-growth areas, all to generate both long-term value and steady returns for shareholders. At the end of this past March, AMG held a total of $882 billion in aggregated assets under management. These assets were deployed across private markets, liquid alternatives, and an array of differentiated long-only investment strategies. The company's portfolio is split between two strategies: Alternative, 58% of the total, and Differentiated Long-Only, which makes up 42%. The first strategy encompasses the private markets and liquid alternatives; the second is mainly equities. AMG provides its affiliate network with a high level of autonomy and gives them a direct stake in the larger partnership's success through meaningful equity interests. The arrangement has proven successful, especially in providing affiliates with access to the larger network's resources in support of their own long-term goals. This asset management company reported its fiscal first-quarter 2026 results earlier this month, highlighting record assets under management of $882 billion. Revenue climbed nearly 10% year-over-year to $544.9 million, narrowly missing Wall Street expectations by about $356,000. Meanwhile, the company posted Non-GAAP EPS of $8.23, beating expectations by $0.16. On the insider track, G. Staley Cates took up a post on the company's Board of Directors in April – and in May, he purchased 1,500 shares of AMG stock. Cates spent nearly $460,000 on the stock and currently holds 6,405 shares in the company. That vote of confidence also lines up with the bullish stance of Goldman Sachs analyst Alexander Blostein, who sees plenty of benefits to owning this stock. "As AMG benefits from the acceleration in organic growth, scaling of EBITDA-share affiliates, and higher performance fees, we see core EBITDA growing 27% in 2026 and remaining >12% in 2027-28. Buybacks will remain an important part of the growth algo, evidenced by the robust start in 1Q (~$190mn repurchased in 1Q), putting the firm on a path to surpass its typical $500mn baseline buyback for the year. As such, we think AMG will put up closer to 40% EPS growth in 2026 (relative to >30% management guide), followed by ~20% growth in 2027/2028. Against this, the stock remains attractively priced at ~7X P/E on our updated 2027 EPS estimates," Blostein opined. Summing up his position, the analyst rates AMG stock as a Buy, with a $405 price target that implies a one-year upside potential of 34%. (To watch Blostein's track record, click here) All five of the recent analyst reviews here are positive, giving the stock its unanimous Strong Buy consensus rating. The shares are trading for $301.28, and the $404.80 average target price practically matches the Goldman view. (See AMG stock forecast)