Insiders In Ur-Energy Left Out From 13% Price Rise After Disposing Stock

Even though Ur-Energy Inc. (TSE:URE) stock gained 13% last week, insiders who sold US$232k worth of stock over the past year are probably better off. Selling at an average price of US$2.19, which is higher than the current price might have been the right call as holding on to stock would have meant their investment would be worth less now than it was at the time of sale.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Ur-Energy

Ur-Energy Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Non-Executive Director, Gary Huber, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for CA$126k worth of shares at a price of CA$2.27 each. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (CA$1.81). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it. Gary Huber was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

Gary Huber divested 106.18k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$2.19. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does Ur-Energy Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Our data suggests Ur-Energy insiders own 0.9% of the company, worth about CA$5.5m. We consider this fairly low insider ownership.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Ur-Energy Insiders?

The fact that there have been no Ur-Energy insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Ur-Energy insiders. And usually insiders own more stock in the company, according to our data. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. When we did our research, we found 2 warning signs for Ur-Energy (1 shouldn't be ignored!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.