More Explanation of Amended Filings.

As we explained in the FAQ for our Other Info abbreviations, an "A" in that column indicates that the transaction was on an amended Form 3, 4, or 5.

Form 4s are really just annoying (electronic) paperwork for insiders that they are forced to fill out by the SEC. Every field in the (now) electronically filed Form 4 can fall prey to Human error, or a lack of knowledge about how to fill in the Form. I've even seen Form 4s that say a trade was a "sale" when it was really a "buy". And when a Form 4 filing has a mistake on it, the SEC requires that the insider corrects it asap (not that there's any serious penalty if they drag their feet).

So any record with an "A" in the "Other Column" is meant to replace an earlier, incorrect record. Most of the time you can see the incorrect transaction just below the amended transaction on our wesite, or somewhere within eyeshot in the same browser view of the output. But not always--particualrly when it was the year of the transaction date that was in error.

Ideally, we would remove the incorrect transaction, or at least demarcate it with a different flag in the "Other Info" column. Unfortunately, matching up the records is imperfect. And while we are all about adding value to the raw data, we have to balance that with the potential for introducing false information. This is one of our many ongoing projects, but a simple, common sense look at the insider history is usually enough to clear up any question about which record was amended.