Insiders In LiveHire Still Down 43% On AU$1.07m Investment

Insiders who bought AU$1.07m worth of LiveHire Limited (ASX:LVH) stock in the last year recovered part of their losses as the stock rose by 13% last week. The purchase, however, has proven to be a pricey bet, with losses currently totalling AU$454k.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for LiveHire

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At LiveHire

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when CEO & Executive Director Christy Forest bought AU$675k worth of shares at a price of AU$0.035 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than AU$0.018 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid AU$1.1m for 34.03m shares. But they sold 466.29k shares for AU$24k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by LiveHire insiders. Their average price was about AU$0.031. This is nice to see since it implies that insiders might see value around current prices. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

LiveHire is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.

LiveHire Insiders Bought Stock Recently

It's good to see that LiveHire insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. In total, insiders bought AU$275k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. This could be interpreted as suggesting a positive outlook.

Insider Ownership Of LiveHire

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. LiveHire insiders own about AU$2.2m worth of shares. That equates to 33% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About LiveHire Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. Insiders likely see value in LiveHire shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing LiveHire. Be aware that LiveHire is showing 5 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those shouldn't be ignored...

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 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.