90% Of This Centerra Gold Insider's Holdings Were Sold

Looking at Centerra Gold Inc.'s (TSE:CG ) insider transactions over the last year, we can see that insiders were net sellers. That is, there were more number of shares sold by insiders than there were purchased.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for Centerra Gold

Centerra Gold Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The insider, Darren Millman, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for CA$496k worth of shares at a price of CA$6.83 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of CA$8.93. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. 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. We note that the biggest single sale was 90% of Darren Millman's holding. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Darren Millman.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid CA$334k for 48.43k shares. But insiders sold 99.73k shares worth CA$698k. Darren Millman divested 99.73k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$7.00. 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!

I will like Centerra Gold better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Centerra Gold Insiders Are Selling The Stock

There was substantially more insider selling, than buying, of Centerra Gold shares over the last three months. We note insider Darren Millman cashed in CA$698k worth of shares. Meanwhile insiders bought CA$150k worth. Because the selling vastly outweighs the buying, we'd say this is a somewhat bearish sign.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Based on our data, Centerra Gold insiders have about 0.2% of the stock, worth approximately CA$3.6m. We consider this fairly low insider ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Centerra Gold Tell Us?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Centerra Gold, in the last three months. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. When you combine this with the relatively low insider ownership, we are very cautious about the stock. We'd certainly practice some caution before buying! 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. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Centerra Gold that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

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.