Stock Analysis

Insider Buyers At Vertiqal Studios Recover Some Losses, But Still Down CA$168k

TSX:VRTS
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Insiders who bought CA$443.5k worth of Vertiqal Studios Corp. (TSE:VRTS) stock in the last year recovered part of their losses as the stock rose by 50% last week. However, the purchase is proving to be a costly gamble, since losses made by insiders have totalled CA$168k since the time of purchase.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for Vertiqal Studios

Vertiqal Studios Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when insider Max Desmarais bought CA$340k worth of shares at a price of CA$0.025 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of CA$0.015. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

Vertiqal Studios insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. 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!

insider-trading-volume
TSX:VRTS Insider Trading Volume December 1st 2024

Vertiqal Studios is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Vertiqal Studios Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Vertiqal Studios. We can see that insider Max Desmarais paid CA$79k for shares in the company. No-one sold. This could be interpreted as suggesting a positive outlook.

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. Insiders own 40% of Vertiqal Studios shares, worth about CA$3.8m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Vertiqal Studios Tell Us?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Vertiqal Studios we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Our analysis shows 7 warning signs for Vertiqal Studios (5 don't sit too well with us!) and we strongly recommend you look at them before investing.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.