The Metals Company's Top Executive Moved Millions in Stock During Explosive Rally

A Deep-Sea Miner’s Insider Activity Amid Record Gains

The Metals Company (NASDAQ: TMC), a Vancouver-based explorer focused on harvesting polymetallic nodules from the ocean floor, witnessed significant insider trading activity as its stock soared approximately 450% throughout 2025. Anthony O’Sullivan, the company’s Chief Development Officer, liquidated a portion of his direct shareholdings in late November and early December 2025, raising questions about executive confidence amid the stock’s meteoric rise.

Transaction Breakdown

Between November 28 and December 2, 2025, O’Sullivan completed multiple open-market sales totaling 100,000 shares for approximately $664,000. The transactions were executed at an average price of $6.64 per share—a modest discount to the market close price of $7.40 recorded on December 2. Following the sales, O’Sullivan retained 2,025,667 directly held shares, valued at roughly $15 million based on the post-transaction market price.

The 100,000-share reduction represented a 4.49% decrease in his direct holdings, leaving him with over half of the common shares he held back in March 2023. This relatively modest reduction suggests the executive maintains substantial capacity for additional share dispositions at similar scales if circumstances warrant.

Insider Activity Beyond Direct Holdings

O’Sullivan’s 2025 trading calendar extended well beyond these November-December transactions. Earlier in the year, he liquidated all 335,000 shares held indirectly through JOZEM Pty. Limited via three separate dispositions, culminating in June. That period of liquidation was followed by a significant grant: on September 23, 2025, TMC awarded O’Sullivan one million shares directly—a substantial influx that effectively replaced his indirect holdings and bolstered his direct stake.

The pattern of activity—divesting indirect shares, receiving a large grant, and then partially trimming direct holdings—reveals an executive actively managing his portfolio composition throughout the year. O’Sullivan accounted for three of the final four Form 4 filings submitted by the company in 2025, underscoring his prominence in the insider trading landscape at TMC.

The Company Behind the Mineral Play

TMC operates a streamlined workforce of 47 employees and focuses on polymetallic nodule extraction from the Clarion Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean. These concretions contain essential metals—nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese—critical to electric vehicle production, energy storage systems, and steel manufacturing.

The company positions itself as a supplier to clean energy and advanced manufacturing sectors, with a business model centered on exploration and future monetization of mineral resources. However, profitability remains elusive: TMC posted a net loss of $295.51 million on a trailing-twelve-month basis, with third-quarter 2025 losses exceeding $184.5 million—more than double the prior quarter’s deficit.

What Investors Should Consider

The 450% stock appreciation in 2025 created an extraordinary backdrop for O’Sullivan’s insider transactions. While his late-year share sales occurred against a backdrop of stunning gains, the modest scale of dispositions and his retention of substantial direct ownership suggest this was routine portfolio rebalancing rather than a signal of distress.

That said, several risk factors warrant monitoring. TMC remains cash-flow negative and dependent on additional financing to fund its exploration and extraction operations. The company is actively seeking capital to support its scaling efforts—a dependency that could introduce volatility or dilution for existing shareholders.

Q4 2025 earnings, expected to arrive in March 2026, will provide critical insights into operational progress and the company’s funding trajectory. Investors tracking TMC should view O’Sullivan’s insider activity as a data point rather than a red flag, but the underlying operational and financial metrics demand close scrutiny as the deep-sea minerals sector evolves.