---
title: "Elastic co-founder sold $323.5 million in a week, no trading plan flagged"
description: "CMXI B.V., the vehicle of Elastic co-founder Steven Schuurman, sold 3.5 million shares in seven days, neither sale made under a pre-set trading plan. The same week brought unpriced AI agents and a brokerage upgrade to Buy at $120."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Markets"
published: 2026-10-19T16:22:22.963Z
modified: 2026-10-19T16:22:22.963Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/elastic-co-founder-sold-323-5-million-in-a-week-no-trading-plan-flagged
language: en
keywords: "Insider Selling, Elastic, SEC Filings, AI Agents"
---

# Elastic co-founder sold $323.5 million in a week, no trading plan flagged

> CMXI B.V., the vehicle of Elastic co-founder Steven Schuurman, sold 3.5 million shares in seven days, neither sale made under a pre-set trading plan. The same week brought unpriced AI agents and a brokerage upgrade to Buy at $120.

## Two sales took $323.5 million out in seven days

[Steven Schuurman](https://theinference.org/markets/people/steven-schuurman) co-founded [Elastic](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/elastic), the Amsterdam-based company behind the Elasticsearch search engine, and still sits on its board [1][3]. His holding vehicle, CMXI B.V., [sold 1,500,000 Elastic (NYSE: ESTC) shares at $90.13 on October 5](https://theinference.org/article/elastic-s-new-agents-ship-with-no-price-its-co-founder-sold-135-million), then 2,000,000 more at $94.15 on October 12: $323,495,000 in a week [2][3]. Neither Form 4, the SEC's report of an insider's share dealings, carries the Rule 10b5-1 indicator that flags a sale made under a pre-set trading plan [2][3]. The notice proposing the second tranche, dated October 13, names [Goldman Sachs](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/goldman-sachs) as broker [4].

## Two sales cut the stake to 2,504,600 shares

The first Form 4 left CMXI with 4,504,600 shares; the second left 2,504,600 [2][3]. On those figures the stake stood at 6,004,600 before the first sale, and the week removed 58 percent of it: 3,500,000 shares, about 3.3 percent of Elastic's 104,991,280 outstanding [2][3][4]. [The notice traces the stake's origin](https://www.stocktitan.net/sec-filings/ESTC/144-elastic-n-v-sec-filing-7ef6ee7d5cd3.html) to 7,290,000 shares bought on April 28, 2015, for EUR 7,290, one-tenth of a euro cent each [4].

*Chart: **Schuurman's vehicle cut its Elastic stake 58% in seven days** Column chart showing CMXI B.V.'s Elastic share holding: 6 million before the October 5 sale, marked as computed, then 4.5 million and 2.5 million after the two sales*

*Millions of Elastic ordinary shares held of record by CMXI B.V. The two post-sale figures are stated in the Form 4 filings of October 6 and 13, 2026; the starting figure, 6,004,600, is computed from them (4,504,600 held after the first sale plus the 1,500,000 sold that day). [2][3]*

## The selling ran into Elastic's AI launch week

The first tranche went out three days before Elastic [put nightshift AI SRE, an agent that investigates outages, into private preview on October 8](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/elastic-introduces-elastic-nightshift-ai-152400561.html), free to existing customers during early access and with no commercial price named [5]. AlertZero, a team of security agents, entered technical preview the next day, also unpriced [6].

Monness Crespi & Hardt, a brokerage, then [moved the stock from Neutral to Buy on October 9 with a $120 target](https://www.investing.com/news/analyst-ratings/monness-upgrades-elastic-stock-rating-on-ai-positioning-and-new-metrics-93CH-4941078) [7][8]. Both tranches printed 21 to 25 percent below that target; the shares closed at $95.52 on October 12 [8].

*Chart: **Both tranches sold 21 to 25 percent under the street's new $120 target** Column chart comparing CMXI's two sale prices, $90.13 on October 5 and $94.15 on October 12, the $95.52 close of October 12, and Monness's $120 target, shown as an estimate*

*Per-share figures in dollars: CMXI sale prices per the Form 4 filings; NYSE close of October 12, 2026, per Ad Hoc News. The Monness 12-month target, set October 9, is a projection and is shown as an estimate. [2][3][8]*

## The filings give no reason, and none is required

No filing states why Schuurman sold, and none is required to. Sales after a 22 percent year-to-date run, with the stock at $92.06 on October 14 against an average analyst target of $111.52, fit routine diversification [9]. He holds through CMXI and disclaims ownership beyond his pecuniary interest [3].

## EDGAR shows no new filings, and one wire item does not check out

The record does not settle whether more selling is coming. EDGAR, the SEC's filing database, showed as of October 19 that CMXI's latest Form 144 is the October 13 notice, and no Elastic Form 4 follows it [10][11][12]. [A wire item dated October 17 describes another Form 144](https://uk.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/form-144-elastic-nv-for-17-october-93CH-4915827); no such filing appears on EDGAR [13]. The shares closed down 5.66 percent on Friday October 16 [14].

For a buyer near $95 the meaning is plain: the founder took cash 21 to 25 percent below the street's new target during launch week, and owning the AI ramp now means paying a price he declined to hold.

## The next reading is November 19

Elastic reports fiscal second-quarter results that day, [guiding to $486 million to $487 million in revenue and its first positive GAAP operating margin](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/nebenwerte/monness-upgraded-elastic-stock-to-buy-with-usd-120-target/70308936), operating profit under standard accounting rules [8]. Until then, watch EDGAR for further Form 144 notices from CMXI [11]. The founder who paid EUR 7,290 for his first 7.29 million shares has, on the filings' own figures, let nearly ten million go [2][3][4].

*Chart: **Revenue has climbed ten straight quarters into a guide of $486 million to $487 million** Line chart of Elastic quarterly revenue rising from $335 million in early 2024 to $478 million in the July 2026 quarter, with the guide for the quarter reported November 19 shown as an estimate at $486 to $487 million*

*Quarterly revenue in millions of US dollars, labelled by calendar quarter, from Elastic's SEC filings (its fiscal year ends April 30). The final point is the midpoint of the guide of $486 million to $487 million for the fiscal second quarter reported November 19, and is shown as an estimate. [15][8]*

## Takeaway

CMXI B.V., Elastic co-founder Steven Schuurman's vehicle, sold 3.5 million shares for $323.5 million in seven days with no pre-set trading plan, into an AI launch week and a Buy upgrade at $120; the next reading is the November 19 print.

## Sources

1. [Wikipedia, Elastic (company), retrieved 19 October 2026](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elastic_(company))
2. [SEC EDGAR, Form 4, Steven Schuurman, Elastic N.V., complete submission text, filed 6 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1707753/000112329226001368/0001123292-26-001368.txt)
3. [SEC EDGAR, Form 4, Steven Schuurman, Elastic N.V., filed 13 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1707753/000112329226001388/0001123292-26-001388-index.htm)
4. [StockTitan, Form 144 summary, Elastic N.V. and CMXI B.V., notice dated 13 October 2026](https://www.stocktitan.net/sec-filings/ESTC/144-elastic-n-v-sec-filing-7ef6ee7d5cd3.html)
5. [Business Wire via Yahoo Finance, Elastic Introduces Elastic nightshift AI SRE, 8 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/elastic-introduces-elastic-nightshift-ai-152400561.html)
6. [BigDATAwire, Elastic Announces AlertZero, a Team of Specialized AI Agents, 9 October 2026](https://www.hpcwire.com/bigdatawire/this-just-in/elastic-announces-alertzero-a-team-of-specialized-ai-agents-for-the-security-operations-lifecycle/)
7. [Investing.com, Monness upgrades Elastic stock rating on AI positioning and new metrics, 9 October 2026](https://www.investing.com/news/analyst-ratings/monness-upgrades-elastic-stock-rating-on-ai-positioning-and-new-metrics-93CH-4941078)
8. [AD HOC NEWS, Monness upgraded Elastic stock to Buy with USD 120 target, 13 October 2026](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/nebenwerte/monness-upgraded-elastic-stock-to-buy-with-usd-120-target/70308936)
9. [Zonebourse / MT Newswires, Un initié d'Elastic a vendu des actions pour 188 300 000 dollars, 13 October 2026](https://ch.zonebourse.com/actualite-bourse/un-initie-da-elastic-a-vendu-des-actions-pour-188-300-000-dollars-selon-un-recent-document-depose-ce785dd2d98cf021)
10. [SEC EDGAR, Elastic N.V. Form 144 filing index, retrieved 19 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001707753&type=144&dateb=&owner=include&count=40)
11. [SEC EDGAR, CMXI B.V. filing index, retrieved 19 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001754844&type=144&dateb=&owner=include&count=40)
12. [SEC EDGAR, Elastic N.V. Form 4 filing index, retrieved 19 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001707753&type=4&dateb=&owner=include&count=10)
13. [Investing.com UK, Form 144 ELASTIC N.V. For: 17 October, published 17 October 2026](https://uk.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/form-144-elastic-nv-for-17-october-93CH-4915827)
14. [Investing.com UK, Form 4 Elastic N.V.: Ashutosh Kulkarni (Director, CEO) For: 29 September, published 19 October 2026](https://uk.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/form-4-elastic-nv-ashutosh-kulkarni-director-ceo-for-29-september-93CH-4916351)
15. [Elastic, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 19 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001707753)


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Elastic co-founder sold $323.5 million in a week, no trading plan flagged — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/elastic-co-founder-sold-323-5-million-in-a-week-no-trading-plan-flagged