Insider Spends CA$3.5m Buying More Shares In PyroGenesis

PyroGenesis Inc. (TSE:PYR) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that the President, Photis Pascali, recently bought a whopping CA$3.5m worth of stock, at a price of CA$0.63. While that only increased their holding size by 8.2%, it is still a big swing by our standards.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At PyroGenesis

In fact, the recent purchase by Photis Pascali was the biggest purchase of PyroGenesis shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of CA$0.23. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. Photis Pascali was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months. We note that Photis Pascali was also the biggest seller.

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!

Check out our latest analysis for PyroGenesis

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that PyroGenesis insiders own 38% of the company, worth about CA$18m. 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 PyroGenesis Insiders?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of PyroGenesis we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing PyroGenesis. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs (2 are a bit unpleasant!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in PyroGenesis.

But note: PyroGenesis may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.