Despite Recent Gains, Petro-Victory Energy Insiders Are Still Down US$149k

Insiders who bought US$628.9k worth of Petro-Victory Energy Corp. (CVE:VRY) stock in the last year recovered part of their losses as the stock rose by 30% last week. However, the purchase is proving to be a costly gamble, since losses made by insiders have totalled US$149k since the time of purchase.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for Petro-Victory Energy

Petro-Victory Energy Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Non-Executive Director Thomas Bryant made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for CA$600k worth of shares at a price of CA$2.00 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being CA$1.49). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. 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.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid CA$629k for 322.35k shares. On the other hand they divested 300.00k shares, for CA$600k. In total, Petro-Victory Energy insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. 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!

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

Have Petro-Victory Energy Insiders Traded Recently?

We've only seen a tiny insider purchase valued at CA$2.8k, in the last three months. So it is hard to draw any conclusion about how insiders are feeling about the stock, from these recent trades.

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Petro-Victory Energy insiders own 23% of the company, worth about CA$7.2m. 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 Petro-Victory Energy Insider Transactions Indicate?

Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. The net investment is not enough to encourage us much. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Petro-Victory Energy insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. 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 6 warning signs for Petro-Victory Energy (of which 4 don't sit too well with us!) 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 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.