This SOCO Insider Reduced Their Stake By 100%

Viewing insider transactions for SOCO Corporation Ltd's (ASX:SOC ) over the last year, we see that insiders were net sellers. This means that a larger number of shares were sold by insiders in relation to shares purchased.

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.

See our latest analysis for SOCO

SOCO Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the insider, Carlo Liviani, sold AU$1.4m worth of shares at a price of AU$0.08 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of AU$0.083. 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. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was 100% of Carlo Liviani's holding. Carlo Liviani was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid AU$125k for 1.35m shares. On the other hand they divested 18.70m shares, for AU$1.5m. Carlo Liviani divested 18.70m shares over the last 12 months at an average price of AU$0.081. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like SOCO better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

SOCO Insiders Are Selling The Stock

There was substantially more insider selling, than buying, of SOCO shares over the last three months. In that time, insider Carlo Liviani dumped AU$1.4m worth of shares. On the flip side, insiders spent AU$60k on purchasing shares. Because the selling vastly outweighs the buying, we'd say this is a somewhat bearish sign.

Does SOCO 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. Insiders own 32% of SOCO shares, worth about AU$3.7m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The SOCO Insider Transactions Indicate?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at SOCO, in the last three months. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We'd practice some caution before buying! So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for SOCO (of which 3 are a bit unpleasant!) you should know about.

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 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.