Yahoo Finance Despite recent gains, IP Group Plc (LON:IPO) insiders are still down UK£39k after purchasing last year
Some of the losses seen by insiders who purchased UK£184k worth of IP Group Plc (LON:IPO) shares over the past year were recovered after the stock increased by 13% over the past week. The purchase, however, has proven to be a pricey bet, with losses currently totalling UK£39k.
While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
See our latest analysis for IP Group
IP Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by insider Chris Glasson for UK£61k worth of shares, at about UK£1.17 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being UK£0.94). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.
While IP Group insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Insider Ownership of IP Group
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. From looking at our data, insiders own UK£1.1m worth of IP Group stock, about 0.1% of the company. We prefer to see high levels of insider ownership.
So What Does This Data Suggest About IP Group Insiders?
There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think IP Group insiders are doubting the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing IP Group. Our analysis shows 2 warning signs for IP Group (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) and we strongly recommend you look at these before investing.
If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
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.
