Nancy Pelosi, former Speaker of the House and current representative of California’s 11th district, is one of, if not the most successful and notorious congressional stock traders. Despite her long tenure, her financial aptitude hasn’t dulled at all — in 2024, the congresswoman secured an impressive 146.2% return on her investments.
While congressional stock trading is a controversial practice, the rules and regulations currently in place are largely ineffective. As a result, traders have turned to copying the trades of their elected officials, in a bid to replicate some of their successes.
Unsurprisingly, Pelosi is among the more closely-watched investors on Capitol Hill. In fact, the mere announcement that she has gone long on a stock is liable to cause a sudden upswing — as seen recently with the case of Tempus AI (NYSE: TEM).
Picks for you
Back on January 20, Finbold’s congressional trading radar picked up a periodic transaction report submitted to the Clerk of the House of Representatives. The report revealed that the representative had finally executed a trade that had been in the making for a long time.
Receive Signals on US Congress Members' Stock Trades
Stay up-to-date on the trading activity of US Congress members. The signal triggers based on updates from the House disclosure reports, notifying you of their latest stock transactions.
Since February of 2024, Pelosi has been long on Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) — but hasn’t held the stock directly, at least until recently. Her investments came in the form of options contracts — and those contracts were recently exercised.
Nancy Pelosi broke even on Palo Alto — and it’s all profits from here on out
In total, Pelosi spent roughly $1.2 million to purchase PANW call options last year. She exercised 140 options contracts at a strike price of $100 to purchase 14,000 Palo Alto shares on December 20, for a grand total of $1,400,000.
By press time on January 29, the price of Palo Alto stock had risen to $185.93, having rallied by 2.18% since the beginning of the year.
Accordingly, Pelosi’s 14,000 shares are now worth $2,603,020. While the former Speaker has broken even on the trade, she still hasn’t made a significant profit — as the setup cost roughly $2,600,000.
However, Pelosi, who has long been a big tech bull, seems to have a pronounced instinct for identifying opportunities when it comes to the high-growth sector — and analysts generally echo her confidence in the cybersecurity company.
Interestingly enough, a rival from across the political aisle — Republican Congresswoman Majorie Taylor Greene, also invested in Palo Alto Networks recently. The Florida Representative purchased between $3,003 and $45,000 worth of PANW stock in January, as revealed by a recent disclosure.
Featured image via Shutterstock
