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A stock selloff by Mattel executives in the wake of the blockbuster “Barbie” film has raised eyebrows and “red flags” among some Wall Street watchers.

The stock sales, while perfectly legal experts stressed, may mean Mattel’s brass believe the pink tide that lifted the company’s value has crested, according to VerityData, an investment research firm that tracks insider buying, selling and buyback activity.

When we see insiders selling aggressively into the the rise of the stock it raises red flags about the sustainability of this stocks valuation, Ben Silverman, director of research for VerityData, told The Post.

Mattel’s stock is up about 21% this year, fueled by the buzz around “Barbie,” which was released July 21 and has since grossed more than $1 billion.

Five senior Mattel executive sold 275,800 shares over the past 10 days according to government filings. The average sale price of $21.21 netted them about $4.2 million, according to VerityData.

The trades stand out, Silverman said, because Mattel insiders rarely sell their shares.

Since July 31, Mattel officers have dumped more shares than the 248,000 sold by insiders in the previous 9.5 years, Silverman said.

Three of the Mattel executives were first-time sellers, including head of human resources, Amanda Thompson, who joined the company  in 2017, Jonathan Anschell, who has been the companys legal counsel since 2021 and Yoon Hugh, the companys controller since 2019, VerityData found.

The others include Steve Totzke, president and chief commercial officer, and Roberto Isaias, Mattel’s chief supply chain officer, according to the firm.

All the trades were made days after the company reported its financial results on July 26, avoiding any legal impropriety but not scrutiny.

Seeing five executives trading all at once, raises questions, said Thomas Gorman, a former SEC official and current partner in law firm Dorsey & Whitney. You dont usually see that kind of a pattern coming out of a sophisticated company like Mattel.

The selloff could suggests that the pop in Mattels stock may not be sustainable, according to VerityData.

We are telling our clients that insiders are sending a message that the stock is over-valued, Silverman said.

Even before the movie was released, Wall Street experts questioned Barbie’s halo effect on the Segundo, Calif-based toy giant.

“We worry somewhat about Mattel’s long-term management of Barbie’s positioning,” wrote DA Davidson analyst Linda Bolton Weiser in a July 17 note, recalling a period 10 years ago when moms were “anti-Barbie.”

The trades by the insiders also come after longtime Mattel chief operating officer Richard Dickson known as the Barbie whisperer quit the company to take over struggling retailer Gap. 

Mattel declined to comment.

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Politics

Just 25% of public think Sir Keir Starmer will win next election – with welfare row partly to blame

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Just 25% of public think Sir Keir Starmer will win next election - with welfare row partly to blame

Only a quarter of British adults think Sir Keir Starmer will win the next general election, as the party’s climbdown over welfare cuts affects its standing with the public.

A fresh poll by Ipsos, shared with Sky News, also found 63% do not feel confident the government is running the country competently, similar to levels scored by previous Conservative administrations under Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak in July 2022 and February 2023, respectively.

Politics latest: ‘A moment of intense peril’ for PM

The survey of 1,080 adults aged 18-75 across Great Britain was conducted online between 27 and 30 June 2025, when Labour began making the first of its concessions, suggesting the party’s turmoil over its own benefits overhaul is partly to blame.

The prime minister was forced into an embarrassing climbdown on Tuesday night over his plans to slash welfare spending, after it became apparent he was in danger of losing the vote owing to a rebellion among his own MPs.

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Govt makes last-minute concession on welfare bill

The bill that was put to MPs for a vote was so watered down that the most controversial element – to tighten the eligibility criteria for personal independence payments (PIP) – was put on hold, pending a review into the assessment process by minister Stephen Timms that is due to report back in the autumn.

The government was forced into a U-turn after Labour MPs signalled publicly and privately that the previous concession made at the weekend to protect existing claimants from the new rules would not be enough.

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While the bill passed its first parliamentary hurdle last night, with a majority of 75, 49 Labour MPs still voted against it – the largest rebellion in a prime minister’s first year in office since 47 MPs voted against Tony Blair’s Lone Parent benefit in 1997, according to Professor Phil Cowley from Queen Mary University.

It left MPs to vote on only one element of the original plan – the cut to Universal Credit (UC) sickness benefits for new claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.

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Govt makes last-minute concession on welfare bill

An amendment brought by Labour MP Rachael Maskell, which aimed to prevent the bill progressing to the next stage, was defeated but 44 Labour MPs voted for it.

The incident has raised questions about Sir Keir’s authority just a year after the general election delivered him the first Labour landslide victory in decades.

Read more:
How did your MP vote on Labour’s welfare bill?
The PM faced down his party on welfare and lost

And on Wednesday, Downing Street insisted Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, was “not going anywhere” after her tearful appearance in the House of Commons during prime minister’s questions sparked speculation about her political future.

The Ipsos poll also found that two-thirds of British adults are not confident Labour has the right plans to change the way the benefits system works in the UK, including nearly half of 2024 Labour voters.

Keiran Pedley, director of UK Politics at Ipsos, said: “Labour rows over welfare reform haven’t just harmed the public’s view on whether they can make the right changes in that policy area, they are raising wider questions about their ability to govern too.

“The public is starting to doubt Labour’s ability to govern competently and seriously at the same levels they did with Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak’s governments. Labour will hope that this government doesn’t end up going the same way.”

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Emotional Reeves a painful watch – and a reminder of tough decisions ahead

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Emotional Reeves a painful watch - and a reminder of tough decisions ahead

It is hard to think of a PMQs like it – it was a painful watch.

The prime minister battled on, his tone assured, even if his actual words were not always convincing.

But it was the chancellor next to him that attracted the most attention.

Rachel Reeves looked visibly upset.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (right) crying as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks. Pic: Commons/UK Parliament/PA
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Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (right) crying as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks. Pic: Commons/UK Parliament/PA

It is hard to know for sure right now what was going on behind the scenes, the reasons – predictable or otherwise – why she appeared to be emotional, but it was noticeable and it was difficult to watch.

Reeves looks visibly upset as Starmer defends welfare U-turn – politics latest

Her spokesperson says it was a personal matter that they will not be getting into.

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Even Kemi Badenoch, not usually the most nimble PMQs performer, singled her out. “She looks absolutely miserable,” she said.

Anyone wondering if Kemi Badenoch can kick a dog when it’s down has their answer today.

The Tory leader asked the PM if he could guarantee his chancellor’s future: he could not. “She has delivered, and we are grateful for it,” Sir Keir said, almost sounding like he was speaking in the past tense.

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Image:
Rachel Reeves looked visibly upset behind Keir Starmer at PMQs. Pic PA

It is important to say: Rachel Reeves’s face during one PMQs session is not enough to tell us everything, or even anything, we need to know.

But given the government has just faced its most bruising week yet, it was hard not to speculate. The prime minister’s spokesperson has said since PMQs that the chancellor has not offered her resignation and is not going anywhere.

But Rachel Reeves has surely seen an omen of the impossible decisions ahead.

How will she plug the estimated £5.5bn hole left by the welfare climbdown in the nation’s finances? Will she need to tweak her iron clad fiscal rules? Will she come back for more tax rises? What message does all of this send to the markets?

If a picture tells us a thousand words, Rachel Reeves’s face will surely be blazoned on the front pages tomorrow as a warning that no U-turn goes unpunished.

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Science

Newly Detected Seaborgium-257 Offers Critical Data on Fission and Quantum Shell Effects

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Newly Detected Seaborgium-257 Offers Critical Data on Fission and Quantum Shell Effects

German Scientists at GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung found a new superheavy isotope, 257Sg, named Seaborgium, which reveals unexpected details about the stability and nuclear fission. This study was published in Physical Review Letters and describes how this isotope, made by fusing chromium-52 with lead-206, survived for 12.6 milliseconds, longer than usual. The rare longevity and decay into 253Rf provide new indications of how K-quantum numbers or angular momentum impact the fission resistance. The findings fill in the gaps and give us an understanding of the effects of quantum shells in superheavy nuclei, which is crucial for preventing immediate disintegration.

Challenging Traditional Views on K-Quantum Numbers and Fission

As per the study by GSI, it challenges conservative views on how K-quantum numbers impact fission. Previously, it was found that the higher K values lead to greater fission hindrance, but after getting the findings from the GSI team, a more complex dynamic emerged. They found that K-quantum numbers offer hindrance to fission, but it is still ot known that it is how much, said Dr. Pavol Mosat, the study’s co-author.

Discovery of First K-Isomeric State in Seaborgium

An important milestone is the identification of the first K-isomeric state in seaborgium. In 259Sg, the scientists found that the conversion of the electron signal occurs 40 microseconds after the nuclear formation. This is clear evidence of the high angular momentum K-isomer. These states have longer lifetimes and friction in fission in a more effective way than their ground-state counterparts.

Implications for the Theorised Island of Stability

This discovery by the scientists provides key implications for the Island of stability, which has long been theorised. It is a region where superheavy elements could have comparatively long half-lives. If K-isomers are present in the still undiscovered elements such as 120, they can enable scientists in the detection of nuclei that would otherwise decay in just under one microsecond.

Synthesising 256Sg with Ultra-Fast Detection Systems

This team of German Scientists under GSI is now aiming to synthesise 256Sg, which might decay quicker than observed or predicted. Their success is dependent on the ultra-fast detection systems created by GSI, which are capable of capturing events within 100 nanoseconds. This continued research by the team may help in reshaping the search and studying the heaviest elements in the periodic table.

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