Have Insiders Sold Tourmaline Oil Shares Recently?

Some Tourmaline Oil Corp. (TSE:TOU) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that insider William Kirker recently sold a substantial CA$3.6m worth of stock at a price of CA$64.94 per share. However, that sale only accounted for 7.0% of their holding, so arguably it doesn't say much about their conviction.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Tourmaline Oil

In fact, the recent sale by insider William Kirker was not their only sale of Tourmaline Oil shares this year. They previously made an even bigger sale of -CA$4.4m worth of shares at a price of CA$66.37 per share. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of CA$62.78. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid CA$5.3m for 84.02k shares. But they sold 122.00k shares for CA$8.0m. William Kirker sold a total of 122.00k shares over the year at an average price of CA$65.71. 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!

Check out our latest analysis for Tourmaline Oil

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Insider Ownership Of Tourmaline Oil

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It's great to see that Tourmaline Oil insiders own 4.9% of the company, worth about CA$1.2b. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Tourmaline Oil Insiders?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of Tourmaline Oil stock, than buying, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Tourmaline Oil you should be aware of.

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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.