Yahoo Finance Boston Scientific Insiders Sold US$6.3m Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy \
Many Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.
View our latest analysis for Boston Scientific
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Boston Scientific
Notably, that recent sale by Eric Francis Thepaut is the biggest insider sale of Boston Scientific shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$53.09, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was 81% of Eric Francis Thepaut's holding.
In the last year Boston Scientific insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Insiders At Boston Scientific Have Sold Stock Recently
The last three months saw significant insider selling at Boston Scientific. In total, insider Eric Francis Thepaut dumped US$2.8m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.
Insider Ownership
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that Boston Scientific insiders own 0.2% of the company, worth about US$183m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Boston Scientific Insiders?
An insider hasn't bought Boston Scientific stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But since Boston Scientific is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. When we did our research, we found 3 warning signs for Boston Scientific (1 is a bit concerning!) that we believe deserve your full attention.
Of course Boston Scientific may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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