Aptose Biosciences Inc. (TSE:APS) Insiders Have Been Selling

We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Aptose Biosciences Inc. (TSE:APS).

What Is Insider Buying?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.

Check out our latest analysis for Aptose Biosciences

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Aptose Biosciences

Notably, that recent sale by Warren Whitehead is the biggest insider sale of Aptose Biosciences shares that we've seen in the last year. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of CA$8.59. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

I will like Aptose Biosciences better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Aptose Biosciences Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Aptose Biosciences shares. In total, Independent Director Warren Whitehead dumped CA$95k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Insider Ownership

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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Aptose Biosciences insiders own about CA$85m worth of shares. That equates to 11% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Aptose Biosciences Tell Us?

An insider hasn't bought Aptose Biosciences stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. 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. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Aptose Biosciences (of which 1 is concerning!) you should know about.

But note: Aptose Biosciences may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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, but not derivative transactions.

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