Don't Ignore The Insider Selling In Kinaxis

We'd be surprised if Kinaxis Inc. (TSE:KXS) shareholders haven't noticed that the President of Global Commercial Operations, Mark Morgan, recently sold CA$453k worth of stock at CA$199 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 Kinaxis

The insider, John Sicard, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for CA$4.1m worth of shares at a price of CA$168 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of CA$194. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 7.0% of John Sicard's stake.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid CA$1.4m for 9.90k shares. On the other hand they divested 27.34k shares, for CA$4.7m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Kinaxis shares, than buying. 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!

View our latest analysis for Kinaxis

I will like Kinaxis better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Does Kinaxis 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. Insiders own 0.2% of Kinaxis shares, worth about CA$12m, according to our data. Overall, this level of ownership isn't that impressive, but it's certainly better than nothing!

What Might The Insider Transactions At Kinaxis Tell Us?

Insiders haven't bought Kinaxis stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. On the plus side, Kinaxis makes money, and is growing profits. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Kinaxis. For example - Kinaxis has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

But note: Kinaxis 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.