While Crypto Flow Technology Limited (HKG:8198) shareholders have had a good week with the stock up 10%, they shouldn't let their guards down. Even though stock prices were relatively low, insiders elected to sell HK$2.7m worth of stock in the last year, which could indicate some expected downturn.
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.
The insider, Hin Ming Yeung, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for HK$2.3m worth of shares at a price of HK$0.48 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of HK$2.62, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 10% of Hin Ming Yeung's holding. Hin Ming Yeung was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.
Hin Ming Yeung ditched 5.72m shares over the year. The average price per share was HK$0.47. 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!
View our latest analysis for Crypto Flow Technology
I will like Crypto Flow Technology better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 5.9% of Crypto Flow Technology shares, worth about HK$111m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
The fact that there have been no Crypto Flow Technology insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. It's heartening that insiders own plenty of stock, but we'd like to see more insider buying, since the last year of Crypto Flow Technology insider transactions don't fill us with confidence. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Crypto Flow Technology. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Crypto Flow Technology (1 can't be ignored) you should be aware of.
But note: Crypto Flow Technology may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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