Equity Bancshares CEO Brad Elliott Exercises Options, Sells 12,272 Shares

What Happened

• Brad S. Elliott, CEO of Equity Bancshares, exercised vested stock options on July 28, 2026 for a total of 12,272 shares (5,359 + 6,913) at an exercise price of $33.50, incurring about $411,113 in exercise cost.
• The same day he sold those 12,272 shares in open-market transactions for aggregate gross proceeds of about $626,263 (sales at weighted-average prices of ~$51.06 and ~$51.01). Net cash proceeds before taxes and fees were roughly $215,150.
• This sequence — exercise of options followed by immediate sale of the resulting shares — is effectively a cashless exercise and routine insider selling rather than a fresh open-market purchase signal.

Key Details

• Transaction date: July 28, 2026.
• Option exercises: 5,359 shares @ $33.50 ($179,527) and 6,913 shares @ $33.50 ($231,586).
• Open-market sales: 6,913 shares @ weighted avg $51.01 (gross $352,632; trades ranged $51.005–$51.04) and 5,359 shares @ weighted avg $51.06 (gross $273,631; trades ranged $51.00–$51.20).
• Total exercised: 12,272 shares; total gross sale proceeds: ~$626,263; total exercise cost: ~$411,113; approximate net before taxes/fees: ~$215,150.
• Shares owned after transaction: not disclosed in the provided filing.
• Filing timeliness: Form 4 filed July 29, 2026 (one day after the transactions), which is generally timely.
• Footnotes of note:
  • F1/F2: Sales executed in multiple trades; reported sale prices are weighted averages.
  • F3: Reporting person is managing member of Elliott Legacy, LLC and disclaims beneficial ownership except to the extent of pecuniary interest.
  • F4: The option vested over three equal installments beginning Feb 17, 2018.

Context

• Because the options were exercised and the resulting shares were sold the same day, this is a cashless exercise—common when insiders convert option value to cash rather than adding to a long-term share stake.
• The filing is factual and does not, by itself, indicate the insider’s longer-term view of the stock; purchases generally carry more bullish implication than sales.