This Insider Has Just Sold Shares In First Quantum Minerals

We'd be surprised if First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (TSE:FM) shareholders haven't noticed that an insider, Zenon Wozniak, recently sold CA$497k worth of stock at CA$11.04 per share. That sale was 23% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

View our latest analysis for First Quantum Minerals

First Quantum Minerals Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Chief Operating Officer, Rudi Badenhorst, for CA$2.8m worth of shares, at about CA$35.83 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of CA$10.39. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

First Quantum Minerals insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, 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 First Quantum Minerals better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 0.1% of First Quantum Minerals shares, worth about CA$9.4m, according to our data. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

So What Do The First Quantum Minerals Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold First Quantum Minerals shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. 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 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 3 warning signs for First Quantum Minerals (1 is significant!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

But note: First Quantum Minerals may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.