We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. 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 before you buy or sell Theta Gold Mines Limited (ASX:TGM), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
What Is Insider Buying?
It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.
We don’t think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Harvard University study found that ‘insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.
See our latest analysis for Theta Gold Mines
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Theta Gold Mines
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by insider Xinzhou Li for AU$4.0m worth of shares, at about AU$0.15 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (AU$0.23), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn’t tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.
While Theta Gold Mines insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn’t sell. You can see the insider transactions (by 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!
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).
Insiders at Theta Gold Mines Have Bought Stock Recently
Over the last three months, we’ve seen a bit of insider buying at Theta Gold Mines. Insiders bought AU$39k worth of shares in that time. We like it when there are only buyers, and no sellers. However, in this case the amount invested recently is quite small.
Insider Ownership of Theta Gold Mines
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Our data indicates that Theta Gold Mines insiders own about AU$15m worth of shares (which is 15% of the company). But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven’t picked up on. Whilst better than nothing, we’re not overly impressed by these holdings.
So What Do The Theta Gold Mines Insider Transactions Indicate?
Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. That said, the purchases were not large. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Overall we don’t see anything to make us think Theta Gold Mines insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it’s also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. While conducting our analysis, we found that Theta Gold Mines has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.
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, 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. Thank you for reading.