form4api 0.4.2

Python client for the Form4API — real-time SEC Form 4 insider trading data

form4api

Python client for Form4API — real-time SEC Form 4 insider trading data.

Supports Python 3.11+. Uses httpx for both sync and async HTTP.

Installation

pip install form4api

Sync quickstart

from form4api import Form4ApiClient

client = Form4ApiClient("YOUR_API_KEY")

# Recent open-market purchases at Apple (excluding 10b5-1 plan trades)
txns = client.transactions.list(ticker="AAPL", code="P", exclude_10b5=True, per_page=5)
for t in txns:
    print(t.insider_name, t.insider_title, t.shares_amount, "@", t.price_per_share)
    print(f"  open market: {t.is_open_market}, 10b5 plan: {t.is10b5_plan}, value: ${t.total_value:,.0f}")

# Company overview (includes SIC, state, website)
company = client.companies.get("MSFT")
print(company.name, company.active_insiders, "active insiders")
print(company.sic_description, company.state_of_incorporation)

# Insider detail
insider = client.insiders.get("0001234567")
print(insider.name, insider.officer_title)

# Cluster-buy signals (Business plan)
signals = client.signals.list(cluster_buy=True)
for sig in signals:
    print(sig.company_name, sig.insider_count, "buyers on", sig.signal_date)

Async quickstart

import asyncio
from form4api import AsyncForm4ApiClient

async def main():
    async with AsyncForm4ApiClient("YOUR_API_KEY") as client:
        txns = await client.transactions.list(ticker="AAPL", per_page=5)
        for t in txns:
            print(t.insider_name, t.shares_amount, "@", t.price_per_share)

asyncio.run(main())

Resources

Resource	Methods
client.transactions	.list(**params), .paginate(**params)
client.insiders	.search(name, **params), .get(cik), .transactions(cik, **params)
client.companies	.get(ticker), .insiders(ticker)
client.signals	.list(**params), .paginate(**params) — Business plan
client.webhooks	.create(url, event_types), .list(), .delete(id), .events(**params)

Not yet in this SDK

The API surface is broader than the typed client. These backend features are available via the REST API and the form4api-mcp server today, but don't have a typed SDK resource yet:

• Form 144 notice-of-proposed-sale — GET /v1/form144 (Business)
• Institutional holdings (13F-HR) — GET /v1/holdings, managers — GET /v1/managers (Business)
• Sentiment (MSPR-style, 10b5-1-clean) — GET /v1/signals/sentiment/{ticker} (Business)
• Insider career summary — GET /v1/insiders/{cik}/summary (Pro)
• Post-trade returns (1d/1w/1m/3m/6m) + min_return_* screening filters on /v1/transactions (visible free; screening Pro)

Until they land in the SDK, call them directly (client._get("/v1/holdings", {...})) or see the full REST reference. For LLM workflows, form4api-mcp exposes all of the above as tools.

Transaction filters

client.transactions.list(
    ticker="AAPL",        # filter by ticker
    cik="0000320193",     # or by company CIK
    insider_cik="...",    # filter by insider CIK
    code="P",             # transaction code: P=purchase, S=sale, A=grant, etc.
    from_date="2026-01-01",
    to_date="2026-12-31",
    exclude_10b5=True,    # omit trades filed under a Rule 10b5-1 plan
    per_page=100,
    page=1,
)

Granular filtering (v0.4.0+)

# The "just show me real buys & sells" preset: open-market only,
# no 10b5-1 plan trades, no derivatives.
client.transactions.list(ticker="AAPL", significant=True)

# Multi-code include / exclude (comma-separated SEC codes)
client.transactions.list(codes="P,S")
client.transactions.list(exclude_codes="A,M,F,G")

# Whole-category filters: open_market | grants | derivatives | gifts | other
client.transactions.list(category="open_market")
client.transactions.list(exclude_category="derivatives")
client.transactions.list(exclude_derivative=True)

# Trade-size screening (Pro plan or higher)
client.transactions.list(min_value=1_000_000)          # USD, shares x price
client.transactions.list(min_shares=10_000, max_shares=100_000)

Transaction fields

Field	Type	Description
ticker	str	Stock ticker
company_name	str	Company name
insider_name	str	Insider full name
insider_cik	str	Insider CIK
insider_title	str | None	Officer title as reported on the Form 4
is_director	bool	Director flag
is_officer	bool	Officer flag
is10_pct_owner	bool	10% owner flag
accession_number	str	SEC accession number
security_title	str	Security type
transaction_code	str	Transaction code
is_open_market	bool	True when code is P or S (not grants/awards)
is10b5_plan	bool	Filed under a Rule 10b5-1 pre-scheduled trading plan
shares_amount	float	Shares transacted
price_per_share	float | None	Price per share
total_value	float | None	shares_amount × price_per_share in USD
shares_owned_after	float | None	Holdings after transaction
direct_indirect	str | None	"D" (direct) or "I" (indirect)
is_derivative	bool	Derivative security flag
transaction_date	str	ISO datetime
period_of_report	str	ISO datetime

Company fields

Field	Type	Description
cik	str	SEC CIK
name	str	Company name
ticker	str | None	Stock ticker
exchange	str | None	Exchange
total_filings	int	Total Form 4 filings
active_insiders	int	Distinct insiders who have filed
sic_description	str | None	SEC SIC industry description
state_of_incorporation	str | None	Two-letter state code
website	str | None	Company website as filed with SEC

Pagination

# transactions.paginate() — yields one list per page automatically
all_txns = []
for batch in client.transactions.paginate(ticker="NVDA", exclude_10b5=True, per_page=500):
    all_txns.extend(batch)

# signals.paginate()
all_signals = []
for batch in client.signals.paginate(cluster_buy=True, per_page=100):
    all_signals.extend(batch)

Error handling

from form4api import Form4ApiClient, AuthError, PlanError, RateLimitError, NotFoundError

client = Form4ApiClient("YOUR_API_KEY")

try:
    signals = client.signals.list()
except PlanError as e:
    print(f"Upgrade required")
except RateLimitError as e:
    print(f"Retry after {e.retry_after}s")
except AuthError:
    print("Invalid API key")
except NotFoundError:
    print("Resource not found")

License

MIT