Need To Know: Yamana Gold Inc. (TSE:YRI) Insiders Have Been Buying Shares

It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So before you buy or sell Yamana Gold Inc. (TSE:YRI), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Selling?

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, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year'.

View our latest analysis for Yamana Gold

Yamana Gold Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Executive Chairman Peter Marrone made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for CA$1.4m worth of shares at a price of CA$5.76 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of CA$6.16. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. Happily, the Yamana Gold insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 623.03k shares worth CA$3.1m. On the other hand they divested 179.00k shares, for CA$1.5m. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Yamana Gold insiders. The average buy price was around CA$4.97. It's great to see insiders putting their own cash into the company's stock, albeit at below the recent share price. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Have Yamana Gold Insiders Traded Recently?

We saw some Yamana Gold insider buying shares in the last three months. Senior Vice President of Health Ross Gallinger purchased CA$10.0k worth of shares in that period. It's great to see that insiders are only buying, not selling. However, in this case the amount invested recently is quite small.

Does Yamana Gold 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. It appears that Yamana Gold insiders own 0.4% of the company, worth about CA$26m. 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 Do The Yamana Gold Insider Transactions Indicate?

We note a that there has been a bit of insider buying recently (but no selling). That said, the purchases were not large. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Insiders do have a stake in Yamana Gold and their transactions don't cause us concern. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Yamana Gold you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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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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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