Despite the fact that Ventyx Biosciences, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:VTYX) value has dropped 83% in the last week insiders who sold US$17m worth of stock in the past 12 months have had less success. Insiders might have been better off holding onto their shares, given that the average selling price of US$29.84 is still below the current share price.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Ventyx Biosciences

Ventyx Biosciences Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Founder, Raju Mohan, sold US$8.7m worth of shares at a price of US$29.15 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$2.40. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Insiders in Ventyx Biosciences didn't buy any shares in the last year. 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!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Ventyx Biosciences

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. From our data, it seems that Ventyx Biosciences insiders own 3.6% of the company, worth about US$5.1m. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

So What Do The Ventyx Biosciences Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Ventyx Biosciences insiders. And we're not picking up on high enough insider ownership to give us any comfort. While we like knowing 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. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Ventyx Biosciences has 4 warning signs (2 make us uncomfortable!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

Of course Ventyx Biosciences 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.