Have Insiders Been Buying OceanaGold Corporation (TSE:OGC) Shares This Year?

It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So before you buy or sell OceanaGold Corporation (TSE:OGC), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock in the company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year'.

Check out our latest analysis for OceanaGold

OceanaGold Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Non-Executive Director Craig Nelsen bought CA$188k worth of shares at a price of CA$1.71 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (CA$2.25), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

In the last twelve months OceanaGold insiders were buying shares, but not selling. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

OceanaGold is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Does OceanaGold Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by 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. Based on our data, OceanaGold insiders have about 0.3% of the stock, worth approximately CA$5.2m. We consider this fairly low insider ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At OceanaGold Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no OceanaGold insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. While we have no worries about the insider transactions, we'd be more comfortable if they owned more OceanaGold stock. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing OceanaGold. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for OceanaGold you should be aware of.

But note: OceanaGold 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, but not derivative transactions.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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