Bitfarms Ltd. (TSE:BITF) shareholders may have reason to be concerned, as several insiders sold their shares over the past year. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.
Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
See our latest analysis for Bitfarms
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chief Financial Officer, Jeffrey Lucas, sold CA$224k worth of shares at a price of CA$4.48 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of CA$2.65. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid CA$159k for 54.89k shares. On the other hand they divested 114.85k shares, for CA$418k. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Bitfarms shares, than buying. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
I will like Bitfarms 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.
We saw some Bitfarms insider buying shares in the last three months. Independent Chairman Brian Howlett purchased CA$14k worth of shares in that period. It's good to see the insider buying, as well as the lack of recent sellers. But the amount invested in the last three months isn't enough for us too put much weight on it, as a single factor.
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. From what we can see in our data, insiders own only about CA$415k worth of Bitfarms shares. This level of insider ownership is notably low, and not very encouraging.
Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. That said, the purchases were not large. The insider transactions at Bitfarms are not inspiring us to buy. And we're not picking up on high enough insider ownership to give us any comfort. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Our analysis shows 3 warning signs for Bitfarms (1 is potentially serious!) and we strongly recommend you look at these before investing.
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.