Did GreenPower Motor Company Inc. (CVE:GPV) Insiders Buy Up More Shares?

We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. 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 shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in GreenPower Motor Company Inc. (CVE:GPV).

What Is Insider Buying?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise'.

See our latest analysis for GreenPower Motor

GreenPower Motor Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Executive Chairman & CEO Fraser Atkinson bought CA$652k worth of shares at a price of CA$26.09 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of CA$38.80. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 123.43k shares for CA$1.3m. But insiders sold 5.00k shares worth CA$136k. In total, GreenPower Motor insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. They paid about CA$10.22 on average. We don't deny that it is nice to see insiders buying stock in the company. But we must note that the investments were made at well below today's share price. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insiders at GreenPower Motor Have Sold Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at GreenPower Motor. In total, Independent Director Malcolm Clay sold CA$136k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Insider Ownership of GreenPower Motor

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. GreenPower Motor insiders own about CA$215m worth of shares (which is 27% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About GreenPower Motor Insiders?

An insider sold GreenPower Motor shares recently, but they didn't buy any. But we take heart from prior transactions. We are also comforted by the high levels of insider ownership. So we're not too bothered by recent selling. 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 3 warning signs for GreenPower Motor 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, but not derivative transactions.

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