Trade Alert: Senior VP of Operations & COO Of B2Gold William Lytle Has Sold Stock

Anyone interested in B2Gold Corp. (TSE:BTO) should probably be aware that the Senior VP of Operations & COO, William Lytle, recently divested CA$540k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of CA$4.50 each. Equally important, that sale actually reduced their holding by a full 71% which hardly makes us feel bullish about the stock.

View our latest analysis for B2Gold

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At B2Gold

The President, Clive Johnson, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for CA$1.5m worth of shares at a price of CA$0.66 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (CA$4.54). We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 38% of Clive Johnson's holding.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid CA$610k for 152.16k shares. But they sold 2.83m shares for CA$3.7m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of B2Gold shares, than buying. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Insider Ownership Of B2Gold

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. B2Gold insiders own about CA$49m worth of shares. That equates to 0.8% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About B2Gold Insiders?

Insiders haven't bought B2Gold stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Be aware that B2Gold is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is a bit concerning...

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.