Have Lara Exploration Insiders Been Selling Stock?

We'd be surprised if Lara Exploration Ltd. (CVE:LRA) shareholders haven't noticed that the Vice President of Exploration, Michael Bennell, recently sold CA$205k worth of stock at CA$2.05 per share. The eyebrow raising move amounted to a reduction of 17% in their holding.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Lara Exploration

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Vice President of Corporate Development Christopher MacIntyre for CA$366k worth of shares, at about CA$1.55 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (CA$2.16), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 530.39k shares worth CA$716k. But they sold 99.80k shares for CA$205k. In total, Lara Exploration insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. They paid about CA$1.35 on average. 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!

Check out our latest analysis for Lara Exploration

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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. Lara Exploration insiders own about CA$21m worth of shares. That equates to 19% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Lara Exploration Insiders?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Lara Exploration, in the last three months. But we take heart from prior transactions. And insiders do own shares. So we're not overly bothered by recent selling. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Lara Exploration. For example, Lara Exploration has 4 warning signs (and 2 which are concerning) we think you should know about.

But note: Lara Exploration 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 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.