Are Insiders Buying Great Northern Minerals Limited (ASX:GNM) Stock?

It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Great Northern Minerals Limited (ASX:GNM).

What Is Insider Selling?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. 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'.

See our latest analysis for Great Northern Minerals

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Great Northern Minerals

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when insider Ernst Kohler bought AU$162k worth of shares at a price of AU$0.0079 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (AU$0.012), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 33.95m shares worth AU$346k. But insiders sold 1.55m shares worth AU$9.3k. In total, Great Northern Minerals insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. The average buy price was around AU$0.01. These transactions show that insiders have confidence to invest their own money in the stock, albeit at slightly below the recent price. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Great Northern Minerals Insiders Bought Stock Recently

It's good to see that Great Northern Minerals insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. Overall, four insiders shelled out AU$132k for shares in the company -- and none sold. This is a positive in our book as it implies some confidence.

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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 17% of Great Northern Minerals shares, worth about AU$1.8m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Great Northern Minerals Insider Transactions Indicate?

The recent insider purchases are heartening. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But on the other hand, the company made a loss during the last year, which makes us a little cautious. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Great Northern Minerals we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. 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. When we did our research, we found 6 warning signs for Great Northern Minerals (5 don't sit too well with us!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

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, but not derivative transactions.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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