Yahoo Finance Insider Buying: The Shield Therapeutics plc (LON:STX) CEO & Director Just Bought 22% More Shares
Even if it's not a huge purchase, we think it was good to see that Timothy Watts, the CEO & Director of Shield Therapeutics plc (LON:STX) recently shelled out UK£70k to buy stock, at UK£0.70 per share. While we're hesitant to get too excited about a purchase of that size, we do note it increased their holding by a solid 22%.
Check out our latest analysis for Shield Therapeutics
Shield Therapeutics Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In fact, the recent purchase by Timothy Watts was the biggest purchase of Shield Therapeutics shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of UK£0.61. 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. It is encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. Timothy Watts was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.
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 plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 11% of Shield Therapeutics shares, worth about UK£8.2m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Shield Therapeutics Tell Us?
It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. But on the other hand, the company made a loss during the last year, which makes us a little cautious. While the overall levels of insider ownership are below what we'd like to see, the history of transactions imply that Shield Therapeutics insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with Shield Therapeutics and understanding these should be part of your investment process.
Of course Shield Therapeutics 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.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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