Insiders Sold ioneer At US$0.16, Meanwhile Stock Sits Near AU$0.10
ioneer Ltd's (ASX:INR) stock price has dropped 13% in the previous week, but insiders who sold US$170k in stock over the past year have had less luck. Given that the average selling price of US$0.16 is still lower than the current share price, insiders would probably have been better off keeping their shares.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At ioneer
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Vice President of Corporate Development & External Affairs, Chad Yeftich, for AU$112k worth of shares, at about AU$0.16 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is AU$0.10. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.
Over the last year we saw more insider selling of ioneer shares, than buying. The sellers received a price of around US$0.16, on average. It is certainly not great to see that insiders have sold shares in the company. However, we do note that the average sale price was significantly higher than the current share price (which is AU$0.10). The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
Check out our latest analysis for ioneer
I will like ioneer 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.
Insiders At ioneer Have Sold Stock Recently
Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at ioneer. Specifically, insiders ditched AU$170k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.
Insider Ownership
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that ioneer insiders own 6.0% of the company, worth about AU$19m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
So What Do The ioneer Insider Transactions Indicate?
Insiders sold ioneer shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Be aware that ioneer is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those shouldn't be ignored...
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.