Executive Chairman of Alma Metals Alasdair Cooke Buys 11% More Shares

Potential Alma Metals Limited (ASX:ALM) shareholders may wish to note that the Executive Chairman, Alasdair Cooke, recently bought AU$196k worth of stock, paying AU$0.015 for each share. That's a very decent purchase to our minds and it grew their holding by a solid 11%.

Check out our latest analysis for Alma Metals

Alma Metals Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent purchase by Executive Chairman Alasdair Cooke was not the only time they bought Alma Metals shares this year. They previously made an even bigger purchase of AU$200k worth of shares at a price of AU$0.008 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of AU$0.006. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 68.76m shares worth AU$693k. But they sold 668.66k shares for AU$6.0k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Alma Metals insiders. Their average price was about AU$0.01. I'd consider this a positive as it suggests insiders see value at around the current price. 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!

Alma Metals 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.

Does Alma Metals Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Alma Metals insiders own about AU$1.4m worth of shares. That equates to 15% 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 Alma Metals Tell Us?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Alma Metals insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Alma Metals. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Alma Metals has 5 warning signs (4 are significant!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

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.

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.