Insider Traders Lose AU$49k As Spectur Drops

The recent 11% drop in Spectur Limited's (ASX:SP3) stock could come as a blow to insiders who purchased AU$326.8k worth of stock at an average buy price of AU$0.019 over the past 12 months. Insiders invest with the hopes of seeing their money grow in value over time. However, as a result of recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth AU$277.4k, which is not what they expected.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for Spectur

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Spectur

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when insider Santo Carlini bought AU$110k worth of shares at a price of AU$0.02 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being AU$0.016). It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.

Spectur insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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

Insider Ownership Of Spectur

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Spectur insiders own 32% of the company, worth about AU$1.5m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Spectur Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Spectur insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Spectur insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Spectur (of which 3 are concerning!) you should know about.

Of course Spectur 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.