Even though i-CABLE Communications Limited (HKG:1097) has fallen by 13% over the past week , insiders who sold HK$2.2m worth of stock over the past year have had less luck. Given that the average selling price of HK$0.13 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, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
The insider, Hung Sang Ng, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for HK$2.2m worth of shares at a price of HK$0.13 each. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (HK$0.10). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Hung Sang Ng.
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!
Check out our latest analysis for i-CABLE Communications
I will like i-CABLE Communications 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.
The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of i-CABLE Communications shares. In total, insider Hung Sang Ng dumped HK$2.2m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.
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 our data, it seems that i-CABLE Communications insiders own 10% of the company, worth about HK$72m. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.
An insider sold i-CABLE Communications shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. To that end, you should learn about the 6 warning signs we've spotted with i-CABLE Communications (including 4 which make us uncomfortable).
If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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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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.