Murray Cod Australia Independent Non-Executive Chairman Acquires 2.2% More Stock

Even if it's not a huge purchase, we think it was good to see that Brett Paton, the Independent Non-Executive Chairman of Murray Cod Australia Limited (ASX:MCA) recently shelled out AU$100k to buy stock, at AU$0.14 per share. However, it only increased their shares held by 2.2%, and it wasn't a huge purchase by absolute value, either.

Check out our latest analysis for Murray Cod Australia

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Murray Cod Australia

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive Director of Production & Development and Executive Director, Mathew Ryan, sold AU$2.7m worth of shares at a price of AU$0.07 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (AU$0.14). We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. It is worth noting that this sale was only 34% of Mathew Ryan's holding. Mathew Ryan was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 32.22m shares worth AU$2.5m. But they sold 38.30m shares for AU$2.7m. 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!

I will like Murray Cod Australia 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.

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. It appears that Murray Cod Australia insiders own 21% of the company, worth about AU$30m. 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 Murray Cod Australia Tell Us?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. But we can't say the same for the transactions over the last 12 months. While recent transactions indicate confidence in Murray Cod Australia, insiders don't own enough of the company to overcome our cautiousness about the longer term transactions. Overall they seem reasonably aligned. 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. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Murray Cod Australia (2 don't sit too well with us) you should be aware of.

Of course Murray Cod Australia 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.

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.