Insiders who purchased IDEX Biometrics ASA (OB:IDEX) shares in the past 12 months are unlikely to be deeply impacted by the stock's 28% decline over the past week. Reason being, despite the recent loss, insiders original purchase value of kr700.0k is now worth kr1.36m.
Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when insider Morten Opstad bought kr550k worth of shares at a price of kr3.00 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of kr5.82. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.
In the last twelve months IDEX Biometrics insiders were buying shares, but not selling. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
View our latest analysis for IDEX Biometrics
IDEX Biometrics is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that IDEX Biometrics insiders own 22% of the company, worth about kr99m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders do have a stake in IDEX Biometrics and their transactions don't cause us concern. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Be aware that IDEX Biometrics is showing 5 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 3 of those are significant...
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.
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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.