Last week, Vivani Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:VANI) insiders, who had purchased shares in the previous 12 months were rewarded handsomely. The shares increased by 11% last week, resulting in a US$6.6m increase in the company's market worth, implying a 31% gain on their initial purchase. As a result, their original purchase of US$351.5k worth of stock is now worth US$460.3k.
Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.
See our latest analysis for Vivani Medical
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Chairman of the Board Gregg Williams for US$135k worth of shares, at about US$0.88 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$1.24. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.
In the last twelve months Vivani Medical insiders were buying shares, but not selling. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.
We saw some Vivani Medical insider buying shares in the last three months. Chief Business Officer & Corporate Secretary Donald Dwyer bought US$16k worth of shares in that time. It's great to see that insiders are only buying, not selling. However, in this case the amount invested recently is quite small.
I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Vivani Medical insiders own 34% of the company, worth about US$22m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
Insider purchases may have been minimal, in the last three months, but there was no selling at all. That said, the purchases were not large. 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 Vivani Medical 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. When we did our research, we found 5 warning signs for Vivani Medical (2 are a bit concerning!) that we believe deserve your full attention.
Of course Vivani Medical 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.