Skeena Resources Insiders Sell CA$7.0m Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution

The fact that multiple Skeena Resources Limited (TSE:SKE) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Skeena Resources

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chief Financial Officer, Andrew MacRitchie, sold CA$2.6m worth of shares at a price of CA$22.50 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of CA$33.61. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. 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 only 24% of Andrew MacRitchie's holding. Notably Andrew MacRitchie was also the biggest buyer, having purchased CA$2.6m worth of shares.

In total, Skeena Resources insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. 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!

Check out our latest analysis for Skeena Resources

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Are Skeena Resources Insiders Buying Or Selling?

In the last quarter there were insider sales totalling CA$2.6m. But that was only a smidgen more than the CA$2.6m worth of buying. Ultimately the overall selling isn't enough to tell us much.

Does Skeena Resources Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Skeena Resources insiders own about CA$96m worth of shares. That equates to 2.4% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Skeena Resources Insiders?

Insider buying and selling have balanced each other out in the last three months, so we can't deduct anything useful from these recent trades. Recent sales exacerbate our caution arising from analysis of Skeena Resources insider transactions. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Skeena Resources. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Skeena Resources (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable).

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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.