Have Insiders Sold Spartan Resources Shares Recently?

We wouldn't blame Spartan Resources Limited (ASX:SPR) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Simon Lawson, the MD, CEO & Executive Director recently netted about AU$2.8m selling shares at an average price of AU$0.82. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 23%, which is notable but not too bad.

Check out our latest analysis for Spartan Resources

Spartan Resources Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Simon Lawson is the biggest insider sale of Spartan Resources shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of AU$0.98. 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. We note that the biggest single sale was only 23% of Simon Lawson's holding.

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!

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Insider Ownership Of Spartan Resources

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Spartan Resources insiders own about AU$36m worth of shares. That equates to 3.3% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Spartan Resources Tell Us?

An insider hasn't bought Spartan Resources stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after 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. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Spartan Resources (1 is a bit concerning) you should be aware of.

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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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com