Non-Independent Director Guy de Selliers de Moranville Just Bought 6.1% More Shares In Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (TSE:IVN)

Investors who take an interest in Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (TSE:IVN) should definitely note that the Non-Independent Director, Guy de Selliers de Moranville, recently paid CA$7.00 per share to buy CA$420k worth of the stock. Although the purchase only increased their holding by 6.1%, it is still a solid purchase in our view.

See our latest analysis for Ivanhoe Mines

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Ivanhoe Mines

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the President of the Board of Directors - Kamoa Copper SA, Louis Watum, for CA$520k worth of shares, at about CA$7.38 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of CA$7.00. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid CA$1.3m for 313.00k shares. But insiders sold 306.92k shares worth CA$1.6m. In total, Ivanhoe Mines insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. The average sell price was around US$5.32. We don't gain confidence from insider selling below the recent share price. But we wouldn't put too much weight on the insider selling. 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!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Does Ivanhoe Mines Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Ivanhoe Mines insiders own about CA$1.2b worth of shares (which is 14% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Ivanhoe Mines Insiders?

Insider selling has just outweighed insider buying in the last three months. But the net divestment is not enough to concern us at all. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we'd need to see more buying to gain confidence from the Ivanhoe Mines insider transactions. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Ivanhoe Mines you should be aware of.

Of course Ivanhoe Mines may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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, but not derivative transactions.

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