Generally, when a single insider buys stock, it is usually not a big deal. However, when several insiders are buying, like in the case of Polar Capital Holdings Plc( LON:POLR ), it sends a favourable message to the company's shareholders.
While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Polar Capital Holdings
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when insider Gavin Rochussen bought UK£144k worth of shares at a price of UK£3.91 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of UK£5.34. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.
In the last twelve months insiders purchased 71.95k shares for UK£278k. But insiders sold 10.00k shares worth UK£36k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Polar Capital Holdings insiders. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
View our latest analysis for Polar Capital Holdings
Polar Capital Holdings is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations,this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Insider Ownership Of Polar Capital Holdings
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 3.8% of Polar Capital Holdings shares, worth about UK£20m. 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 Polar Capital Holdings Tell Us?
It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Polar Capital Holdings shares in the last quarter. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Polar Capital Holdings insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. For example - Polar Capital Holdings has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.
Of course Polar Capital Holdings 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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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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.
