i-80 Gold Insider Buyers See Boost After Market Cap Rose CA$90m

i-80 Gold Corp. (TSE:IAU) insiders who bought shares over the past year were rewarded handsomely last week. The stock rose 10.0%, resulting in a CA$90m rise in the company's market capitalisation, translating to a gain of 54% on their initial investment. As a result, their original purchase of US$4.06m worth of stock is now worth US$6.27m.

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.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At i-80 Gold

The President Richard Young made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for CA$1.0m worth of shares at a price of CA$1.52 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being CA$1.21). It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

i-80 Gold insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. The average buy price was around CA$0.78. To my mind it is good that insiders have invested their own money in the company. But we must note that the investments were made at well below today's share price. 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!

See our latest analysis for i-80 Gold

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Insiders At i-80 Gold Have Bought Stock Recently

We saw some i-80 Gold insider buying shares in the last three months. Senior VP & General Counsel David Savarie shelled out CA$20k for shares in that time. We like it when there are only buyers, and no sellers. But in this case the amount purchased means the recent transaction may not be very meaningful on its own.

Does i-80 Gold Boast High Insider Ownership?

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. Insiders own 5.6% of i-80 Gold shares, worth about CA$54m. 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 Do The i-80 Gold Insider Transactions Indicate?

Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. That said, the purchases were not large. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Insiders own shares in i-80 Gold and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for i-80 Gold you should know about.

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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.