GreenTech Metals Up 39%, But Some Insiders Miss Out

Despite a 39% gain in GreenTech Metals Limited's (ASX:GRE) stock price this week, shareholders shouldn't let up. The fact that insiders chose to dispose of AU$667k worth of stock in the past 12 months even though prices were relatively low could be indicative of some anticipated weakness.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Check out our latest analysis for GreenTech Metals

GreenTech Metals Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the insider, Jason Peterson, sold AU$474k worth of shares at a price of AU$0.45 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (AU$0.34). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price. Jason Peterson was the only individual insider to sell over the last year. Notably Jason Peterson was also the biggest buyer, having purchased AU$332k worth of shares.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 2.29m shares worth AU$332k. But insiders sold 1.25m shares worth AU$667k. Jason Peterson ditched 1.25m shares over the year. The average price per share was AU$0.53. 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!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insiders At GreenTech Metals Have Sold Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at GreenTech Metals. Specifically, insider Jason Peterson ditched AU$194k 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.

Does GreenTech 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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. From our data, it seems that GreenTech Metals insiders own 7.0% of the company, worth about AU$2.0m. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

What Might The Insider Transactions At GreenTech Metals Tell Us?

An insider sold GreenTech Metals shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. Insiders own relatively few shares in the company, and when you consider the sales, we're not particularly excited about the stock. So we'd only buy after very careful consideration. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. To that end, you should learn about the 6 warning signs we've spotted with GreenTech Metals (including 3 which make us uncomfortable).

Of course GreenTech Metals 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.

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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.