Don't Ignore The Insider Selling In Microba Life Sciences

Anyone interested in Microba Life Sciences Limited (ASX:MAP) should probably be aware that the Non-Executive Director, Richard Bund, recently divested AU$157k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of AU$0.086 each. On the bright side, that sale was only 5.5% of their holding, so we doubt it's very meaningful, on its own.

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Microba Life Sciences Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Richard Bund was the biggest sale of Microba Life Sciences shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of AU$0.084. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid AU$197k for 1.83m shares. But insiders sold 1.83m shares worth AU$157k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Microba Life Sciences insiders. The average buy price was around AU$0.11. This is nice to see since it implies that insiders might see value around current prices. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Check out our latest analysis for Microba Life Sciences

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Microba Life Sciences

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. From our data, it seems that Microba Life Sciences insiders own 12% of the company, worth about AU$6.3m. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. Overall, this level of ownership isn't that impressive, but it's certainly better than nothing!

What Might The Insider Transactions At Microba Life Sciences Tell Us?

We note that there's been a little more insider selling than buying, recently. But the net divestment is not enough to concern us at all. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. While we have no worries about the insider transactions, we'd be more comfortable if they owned more Microba Life Sciences stock. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Microba Life Sciences. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Microba Life Sciences you should be aware of, and 1 of these is concerning.

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.